This paper explores the evolution of the agricultural sector in Colombia between the early 1970s and 2007. Considering both productivity and harvested areas as sources of growth, we find that the latter has fallen 25% while the former has remained constant over the last 16 years. Therefore, due to various protection measures the agricultural sector has been unable to fully integrate to world markets. The paper additionally compares the Colombian case with Chile, Mexico and Brazil. Our analysis suggests that in order to efficiently integrate the agricultural sector with the rest of the economy it is necessary to design economic incentives that lead to productivity increases. Moreover, a review of investment decisions, both domestic and foreign, suggests that in Colombia this is too small to actually impel structural changes.