- Published
When Perea stopped growing coca - the raw material used to make cocaine - he vowed never to plant it again.
asserted
he → publish → it
He uprooted the green bushes on his small farm in a remote corner of the province of Meta in Colombia, reachable only by river, and replaced them with legal crops like cassava and plantain.
Perea was one of thousands who joined a government-run crop substitution programme aimed at helping farmers abandon coca.
asserted
farmers → uproot → coca
But much of the promised assistance never arrived, and a lack of roads and recurring floods made it difficult to sell his produce.
asserted
it → promise → produce
In 2024, disillusioned, he began planting coca again.
asserted
he → begin → coca
"It's a tragedy," says Perea.
asserted
Perea → say → ?
"But when you have children and no work, what choice do you have?
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you → have → choice
If no help ever arrives, you go back to growing it."
asserted
you → arrive → it
The coca leaf is an ancestral crop traditionally used by indigenous communities in teas and medicines.
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leaf → use → teas
But today most of it is processed into cocaine.
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most → process → cocaine
An estimated 70% of the global supply of the illegal drug comes from Colombia.
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% → estimate → Colombia
"Coca has some major advantages over other crops," says Lucas Marín Llanes, a Colombian researcher who focuses on the coca economy and substitution strategies.
asserted
who → have → economy
"Harvests are quick - farmers can get three or four a year - it's easier to transport, and farmers know what price they'll get."
asserted
they → get → price
Research Marín has worked on shows coca cultivation can also boost local economies, increasing municipal GDP by as much as 10% in some areas between 2014 and 2019.
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cultivation → work → 2014
Substitution programmes were designed to help Colombian coca farmers move away from the crop and build legal livelihoods.
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farmers → design → livelihoods
Yet today the planting of coca is at record levels at more than 250,000 hectares - and many Colombians in substitution programmes say they have been let down.
asserted
they → say → programmes
Elena Hernández moved to the coca-growing region of Guaviare during the boom of the 1990s, lured by better pay.
asserted
Hernández → move → pay
"There was more money back then - you could see it everywhere," she says.
uncertain
she → be → it
"I managed to save and buy a small house."
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I → manage → house
But the coca industry also brought violence and insecurity.
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industry → bring → violence
Armed groups fought for control, while the government tried to curb production through manual eradication, aerial fumigation and arrests.
asserted
government → fight → eradication
These efforts cut off families' incomes but failed to stem cultivation.
So when a nationwide substitution programme was introduced by the then government in 2017, Hernández was eager to sign up, joining around 100,000 families who were promised financial support in return for moving away from coca.
asserted
who → cut → coca
Each household was due to get 36m Colombian pesos ($11,000; £8,000), spread over a two-year period.
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household → get → period
"The way it was presented to us, it seemed very promising for the development of our territory," says Hernández.
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Hernández → present → territory
The programme, known as the National Comprehensive Programme for the Substitution of Illicit Crops (PNIS), was born out of the 2016 peace deal between the government and Colombia's largest guerrilla group, Farc.
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programme → know → government
In exchange for uprooting their coca plants, farmers would also get technical support, including from agronomists, and advice on soil management.
asserted
farmers → uproot → management
While substitution programmes had existed before, they remained limited in scale.
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they → exist → scale
PNIS was the most ambitious attempt to date - and at first appeared to be working.
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PNIS → appear → date
In parts of southern Meta and Guaviare, coca fields were replaced by lemon trees, banana crops and small livestock farms.
asserted
fields → replace → trees
Many farmers, like Hernández, stayed away from coca.
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farmers → stay → coca
Yet that does not mean they consider it a success.
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it → mean → ?
We were treated badly," explains Hernández, pointing to problems that emerged early on.
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that → treat → problems
Payments were delayed, and technical support frequently failed to materialise.
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support → delay → ?
Weak state presence in rural areas and poor coordination between agencies meant support often did not reach communities.
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support → mean → communities
Momentum behind the programme weakened as political priorities shifted.
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priorities → weaken → programme
Iván Duque, who became Colombia's president in 2018, refocused the government's approach on eradication and security strategies.
asserted
who → become → strategies
By the time current President Gustavo Petro took office in 2022, PNIS was behind schedule and struggling to reach communities.
asserted
PNIS → take → communities
But some farmers did report improvements.
asserted
farmers → report → improvements
For Doralba Bejarano, from Puerto Rico in southern Meta, her situation improved as stalled support began to arrive.
asserted
support → improve → Meta
"Before the programme we were terrified," she says.
asserted
she → say → programme
"We had to hide the coca paste because the police, the military, would put us in jail."
asserted
police → have → jail
…and 24 more, not listed.
The Aporia
