In Santa Fe del Caguán, rural youth sow the future over the scars of the past, hand in hand with AGROSAVIA

• For young people, sustainable livestock farming, poultry production, and the preparation of organic fertilizers are more than production systems; they are spaces where technical training converges with their own motivation.

Anchored in the vast greenery of the Colombian Amazon lies Santa Fe del Caguán, a quiet corregimiento (small suburban countryside district) with few inhabitants. This corner of Caquetá, belonging to the municipality of Cartagena del Chairá, seems suspended in time, accessible only after a journey of approximately 70 km along the winding waters of the Caguán River or, during the summer months, taking a ferry that crosses in front of Cartagena del Chairá, followed by a dirt road that cuts through the dusty thicket.

Its identity reflects the currents that have shaped the region: a narrative woven from stories of colonization, extractive economies, agricultural heritage, and the scars of a conflict that etched itself into its geography. Just 2 km from the village, the Rural Educational Institution (REI) bearing its name rises as a bastion of resilience. In its classrooms, teachers transcend the role of instructors to become custodians of memory and architects of change, guiding students in forging a future rooted in the territory, fostering innovation in education, and championing learning as a pillar of peace and social equity.

Into this deep Colombia, where the jungle permeates everything, came the wind of change brought by the National Strategy for Rural Youth. An initiative led by Corporación colombiana de investigación agropecuaria – AGROSAVIA and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, aligned with National Government policies to dignify the peasantry, strengthen rural education, and open paths toward sustainable production. Here, at the frontier between tradition and transformation, seeds of the future are sown in the fertile soil of hope.

In this place, expectation blossoms between furrows in the earth and youthful dreams. Within the framework of this youth project, a gathering was held, combining reflection, technology, and vocation: a workshop on life projects and a practical demonstration of how to use the power tiller, a tool that facilitates farm work and opens new possibilities for sustainable production.

For many young participants, these gatherings are not mere meetings but spaces where they are invited to look inward, to discover in the countryside not only a place of origin but also a path to build the future. “Before, I thought working the land was only about fatigue; today, I see it is also an opportunity,” expressed one participant while learning to maneuver the machine that reduces effort in agricultural tasks.

The event carried special significance due to the territory in which it took place. Santa Fe del Caguán, struck by decades of armed conflict and now part of the development programs with a territorial approach or PDET municipalities (for its Spanish acronym), is a place where every seed of knowledge carries a profound sense of resilience. Betting on youth means opening doors to peace, innovation, and territorial identity in the midst of the Colombian Amazon.

The production systems that today accompany the youth are: sustainable livestock farming, poultry, and the elaboration of organic fertilizers, which become settings where technical learning merges with personal motivation. With every workshop and demonstration, they strengthen their vocational intention to remain in the countryside, to stay in the territory to transform it rather than abandon it.

The Rural Youth Strategy, through these experiences, is proving that investing in rural youth means sowing the future: young people who, with their hands and vocation, become the leading actors of a new chapter for Caguán and for the Amazon.

AGROSAVIA’s science has descended from its solemn shelves to walk hand in hand with the countryside. It is no longer a distant theory but a living instrument placed at the service of the land and of the new generations. Today, it is their hands, young and full of promise, that weave the present with it and sow the future of a region that for so long lived under the shadow of neglect and rigor.

The countryside now beats stronger. The new generations, supported by AGROSAVIA, are rethinking their connection to the land. They now dream of staying in the region and working for an innovative countryside, demonstrating that knowledge is the best seed for change.

A region once stricken, yes, but now rising with an ancient and renewed strength: it reborns from its own ashes, with the eternal tenacity of the phoenix, to start again.