More than 8,300 hectares in southwest Antioquia face legal challenge over protected food-production zones

A legal challenge has placed more than 8,300 hectares in southwest Antioquia at the center of Colombia’s dispute over who controls land use. The Council of State has admitted a lawsuit against Resolution 011 of 2026, issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The resolution formally designated 8,367.64 hectares in the municipalities of Tarso and Salgar as Areas for the Protection of Food Production, known by the Spanish acronym APPA. The figure is intended to protect rural land reserved for food production, but its use by the central government can alter how municipalities plan, administer and use their territory.

The Fundación para el Estado de Derecho, which filed the case, says the designations were adopted without adequate participation and coordination with territorial authorities. It also says the government carried out no prior study of the decision’s economic and fiscal impact and warns that the measure affects the powers of municipalities and departments.

The foundation argues that APPA zones are being used to concentrate power in the national government at the expense of constitutionally recognized local powers. The lawsuit further claims that the decision directly violates private property, economic freedom and citizens’ right to private initiative.

The disputed area includes 2,467.09 hectares in Tarso and 5,900.55 hectares in Salgar. The case is now before the Council of State’s Third Section. The government recently announced plans to repeal several APPA designations in Cundinamarca, but that plan does not cover Antioquia. The Tarso and Salgar zones therefore remain in force while the court considers their future.