Why coca leaf, not coffee, may always be Colombia’s favourite cash crop
One of the least controversial proposals in the FARC peace accords is the idea of crop substitution and alternative development in these regions
The Conversation (US)
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Colombia’s current peace process is facing numerous challenges. In a country that has suffered the worst impacts of the international drug war, one main dilemma is this: what to do with rural regions which have specialised in producing coca leaf, the main ingredient in one of the world’s most lucrative products? The uncomfortable truth about international agricultural markets is that only in illicit ones are poor local producers able to sell their product for a price that actually covers the cost of inputs: land, labour and capital. In a globalised world, illegal crops such as coca, cannabis and poppies are poor farmers’ rational response to the ruinously low prices of imported subsidised farm products.
