Colombian farmers face multiple challenges, such as the low price of crops, issues on access and ownership of land, low productivity, plagues, high cost of equipment, and absence of quality training programmes.

Unfortunately, information about these challenges has seldom been collected and analysed. It is therefore difficult to make these issues visible or to facilitate solutions to them. Because of the lack of security in certain rural areas of Colombia, institutional presence is weak. Stakeholders that could help improve rural livelihoods and land use and productivity, such as the government, NGOs or research centres, do not prioritize these areas due to the risks associated with working in them.

Lina is working with organization Manos al Campo (Hands on the field), which acts as a bridge between future farmers and agricultural stakeholders in the Cauca department. They have built an online platform where young and future farmers can find solutions to challenges regarding everything from land access and ownership to plague treatment and other issues.

With support from the Goalkeepers Youth Action Accelerator, Manos al Campo is organizing workshops and surveys with teenagers from farmer families in rural areas who will likely become farmers in the future themselves. Lina will gather data and stories about farmers’ challenges and use them in a campaign targeting universities, local organizations and decisionmakers, all of whom can collaborate with farmers to provide solutions for agricultural development.