The Colombian Institute of Rural Development (Incoder) will invest $222.8 million in the preparatory phase of the land restitution process, Caracol Radio reported Monday.
According to the director of Incoder, Juan Manuel Ospina, nearly five million acres of land was taken illegally by armed groups and state officials.
Ospina explained that the money will be used to create the Single Registry of Abandoned Property and Land, an institute that will work in coordination with government agencies, such as the Ministry of Agriculture, to facilitate the process of land restitution.
The director reiterated that the successful restitution of land depends on the efficient collaboration of many Colombian institutions.
The Ministry of Agriculture criticized Incoder in May 2011, saying that the institute needed to speed up the process of land restitution to meet the government goal of returning 1.2 million acres of stolen land by the end of the year.
