A government initiative to help communities move away from farming coca has stalled, while a surge in global cocaine use has made demand for the plant higher than ever
A local man in the rural area of Caquetá cultivates coca plants, hidden by the tropical forest. Photograph: Antonio Cascio
According to Estefanía Ciro, a researcher of rural issues within coca economies in the Colombian Amazon, the state’s admission that coca crops were “an issue of development and rural poverty” was one of the key innovations of the peace treaty. For decades, coca plants were part of peasants’ daily lives in departments such as Caquetá or Putumayo. Due to their exposure to armed conflict, farmers became the most at-risk group in a profitable business.
The first phase of the crop substitution programme verified that coca growers had eradicated their plantations so they could receive up to 12m pesos for living expenses a year. However, according to Liscano and other coca growers, the government took more than three years to comply with its part of the deal.“We, as peasants, don’t need donations. We need projects and bank loans at accessible rates,” says Liscano.
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