Apertura económica y cultivos en el departamento del Meta-Colombia, 1990-2000

The process known in Colombia as “Economic Opening” generated important consequences on production organization and social relationships on Meta´s Department. This paper seeks to analyze the economic backgrounds of the developments plans along the decade and how this influenced on the farmers decisions and as consequence in their intent to cultivate the land. To do that it was made a crops series reconstruction form the main products, this based in department data, also it analyzed national and Meta´s development plans to establish the farming policy emphasis in the openness context. The research showed damage to semester-long as much as to peasantry crops; and a benefit to business crops which required high capital investment.The process known in Colombia as “Economic Opening” generated important consequences on production organization and social relationships on Meta´s Department. This paper seeks to analyze the economic backgrounds of the developments plans along the decade and how this influenced on the farmers decisions and as consequence in their intent to cultivate the land. To do that it was made a crops series reconstruction form the main products, this based in department data, also it analyzed national and Meta´s development plans to establish the farming policy emphasis in the openness context. The research showed damage to semester-long as much as to peasantry crops; and a benefit to business crops which required high capital investment.El proceso que se conoció en Colombia como “Apertura Económica” generó efectos importantes en la organización de la producción, y en las relaciones sociales del departamento del Meta. Este artículo analiza el trasfondo económico de los planes de desarrollo durante la década y cómo influyeron en las decisiones de los agricultores y en su intención de cultivar la tierra. Para ello se realizó una reconstrucción de series estadísticas sobre las áreas cultivadas de los productos más importantes, con base en los datos departamentales, y se analizaron los planes de desarrollo nacionales y del Meta para determinar el énfasis de la política agrícola en el contexto de la apertura. La investigación mostró una afectación negativa a los cultivos semestrales y los de tipo campesino, y un beneficio para los cultivos empresariales que requerían gran inversión de capital