Critical Institutional Analysis on the Expansion of Hass Avocado Plantations in Colombia

This research examines the institutional dynamics surrounding Hass plantations in Salamina, Colombia, highlighting a dialectic of expansion and exclusion. It shows how the expansion of Hass avocado cultivation has led to the consolidation of land ownership by international corporations. This process, facilitated by land allocation policies that favor technical considerations, marginalizes local peasants not involved in the avocado boom. Various factors, including the neoliberal food regime, perpetuate corporate expansion while limiting peasant initiatives. Discourses create a narrative in which Hass cultivation is perceived as the only viable solution, exacerbating the challenges faced by local communities. As a result, the peasantry faces increasing constraints while the agrarian landscape in Salamina becomes increasingly corporatized, prompting critical reflection on agrarian issues in the region.