From Violence to Prosperity: Cultivating Sustainable Palm Oil in San Pablo, Colombia

In the municipality of San Pablo, in southern Bolívar, Colombia, an inspiring transformation is underway. Once an epicenter of armed conflict and drug trafficking, the region is now moving toward a development model rooted in legality and sustainability.

Although oil palm cultivation began as a private initiative led by Extractora Loma Fresca, in 2018, 208 smallholders from southern Bolívar came together under the Promotora Asociativa de Productores del Sur de Bolívar (PromoAgrosur) to pursue sustainability certification. With support from RSPO’s Smallholders Support Fund (RSSF) and technical guidance from Promotora Superior S.A.S., the group began strengthening its organizational capacity and implementing best practices, verified nationally by APSColombia, a certification initiative that has been active for more than two years.

Yet this process has faced challenges that go beyond technical and agricultural implementation. It has meant overcoming decades of violence and displacement tied to Colombia’s history of narcotrafficking. The resurgence of the San Pablo community is a testament to the resilience and determination of its people, who chose to plant seeds of hope as security gradually returned to their territory. Families reclaimed their land, and coca crops gave way to oil palm plantations.

Today, nearly 90% of San Pablo’s oil palm growers are independent smallholders. Their efforts have been essential to revitalizing the local economy, creating jobs, improving food security, and attracting workers from neighboring regions.

For the RSPO, supporting this process reaffirms the value of sustainable palm oil certification as a tool for social transformation. San Pablo stands as a powerful example for communities across Latin America and the world that have been affected by violence.

Where illegality and conflict once prevailed, responsible, prosperous, and sustainable agriculture now flourishes in peace.