Colombia

COLOMBIA faces both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It is located between 4° S and 12° N latitude and 68° and 78° W longitude. Colombia spans four AEZs: AEZ 1, warm arid and semiarid tropics; AEZ 2, warm subhumid tropics; AEZ 3, warm humid tropics; and AEZ 4, cool tropics. The climate in the coastal lands is tropical with high rainfall; the Pacific coast represents one of the most humid regions in the world. The highlands, where major cities are located, have a rather temperate climate. The population in 1999 was 41.6 million, 72% of whom live in urban areas. Employment follows the same trend as population distribution, with 70% of the labor force being urban. The major sources of employment are agriculture (30%) and manufacturing (13%). Agriculture contributed 19%to GDP in 1999.

General information

• GNI per capita PPP$, 2000: 6,060
• Internal renewable water resources: 1,070 km³
• Main food consumed: sugar and honey, rice, maize, oil and fat, meat
• Rice consumption, 1999: 29.3 kg milled rice per person per year

Production constraints
There are several constraints to sustainable rice production in Colombia:

• High production costs and shrinking local market because of a reduction in national consumption
• Blast, rice hoja blanca virus, crinkling or entorchamiento virus, Rhynchosporium, Helminthosporium
• Weed and red rice competition
• Infertile and aluminum-toxic soil in upland rice areas of eastern plains
• Yield potential of irrigated rice varieties has reached a plateau

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