This article analyzes the "Agro Ingreso Seguro" (AIS) case, considering the political changes in the context of its implementation during the years 2007-2009, and its impact upon four characteristics of the rural development in Colombia. Through the use of the conceptual and methodological tools from the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework (IAD), this article aims to locate the set of formal and informal rules of AIS and to reveal the institutional agreements of the program. The foregoing considerations allow us to conclude that the main institutional failures of AIS are given by its design, the agreements reached and the participation of private actors in the policy. Accordingly, it is necessary to strengthen the rural institutions and the formal rules put into action to achieve efficiency and effectiveness in the use of public resources.