With the distribution of kits for the countryside to 200 peasant families in Boyacá and other areas of the country, the initiative Melting weapons, cementing dreams, led by PazdelRío and the Colombian Military Forces, concluded. As of today, 25 thousand weapons that previously generated terror, are now sowing hope, becoming a promise of development for Colombian farmers.
With the work of Carlos Amaya, governor of Boyacá, the families belonging to the villages of Colaote, La Torre, Portillo and Soapaga, received the support kits for agriculture made of the transformation of weapons, including hoes, shovels, machetes, wheelbarrows, axes, picks, rolls of barbed wire, boxes of staples and nails. In the same way, a thousand sacks of PazdelRío fertilizer were distributed, which are produced under an economy principle in which the minerals extracted of the earth return to it to make it more productive.
“After the return of PazdelRío to the leadership of the Colombian business community, we committed ourselves to work for the foundation of progress and well-being for Colombians. Today, we are honoring that purpose by transforming weapons into productive tools for agriculture. Making steel into seeds of peace and prosperity for farmers,” said Fabio Galán Sánchez, president of Acerías PazdelRío .
On the other hand, through the Department of firearms and Explosives Trade Control, of the General Command of the Military Forces, where these weapons were centralized, coming in a large percentage from operations against illegal armed groups and voluntary handed over by the citizens, an important work is coordinated that leads to saving lives, bringing a message of hope to the inhabitants.
For his part, Major General Hugo Alejandro López Barreto, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Military Forces ratified: "The transformation of weapons into productive tools for agriculture, leads to contribute to the socio-economic development of the region, along with the unarmed resources of the Forces."
According to DANE data, agriculture contributes 8.4% of GDP to Colombia, hence the distribution of these tools, in addition to creating social fabric, builds the economy. At the same time, it is a contribution to the food security of Colombians, providing a significant number of low-income farmers with tools that will led them to improve their incomes and add national products to the food services in the country.
The ceremony of distribution of these tools for agriculture was held at the PazdelRío facilities in Boyacá, at the event that was attended by representatives of the group, high military commanders, local authorities and community representatives.
