15 April 2002

USAID Outlines its Alternative Development Program in Colombia

Washington -- The U.S. Agency for International Development has issued a fact sheet on its multi-year alternative development program in Colombia, which cites good government practices as the key to stopping the Andean nation's cultivation of coca, the crop used to make the illegal drug cocaine.

USAID said it has learned from experience in its successful alternative development programs in Bolivia and Peru that local communities working together with an "effective and accountable government can successfully reject involvement in the coca industry and develop a strong legal economy."

The agency said its programs in Bolivia and Peru required 10 and six years, respectively, to bear fruit, but that now the areas of legal crop cultivation in those countries have increased dramatically. In Bolivia, for instance, the area devoted to legal crops has increased from 40,000 hectares to more than 120,000 hectares. In Peru, coca cultivation has dropped by 70 percent and the 17,000 families in the alternative development program now grow crops such as coffee, cacao, palm hearts, pineapple and mango on about 32,000 hectares of land.

USAID said in an April 8 fact sheet that its alternative development program in Colombia, begun in May 2001, is part of a broader U.S. initiative to eliminate the illicit narcotics industry in that country. The initiative includes eradication and interdiction efforts carried out by other U.S. agencies in coordination with Colombia's government.

The process of creating an alternative economy "requires many ingredients, including strengthened government presence, new employment opportunities, and social change," USAID said. USAID-supported activities include small-scale infrastructure projects started by participating communities, such as building feeder roads and repairing schools, sewage and irrigation systems. Larger, longer-term projects have also begun, such as organizing an association of heart-of-palm producers and linking it to supermarkets in the Colombian capital of Bogota, and investing in rubber production and wood projects for sustainable use of the forests.

USAID said it spent $8.1 million on the Colombian program in 2001, and expects to invest an additional $32 million by the end of fiscal year 2002. It said Colombia's "security situation" remains the largest obstacle to a successful program.

The agency said in 2001 it provided seeds, livestock and farm implements to about 2,380 families in Colombia. Larger-scale projects are developing products of palm hearts, rubber, and agro-forestry. In addition, six village-level infrastructure projects were completed and another 56 begun. Altogether, Colombian communities involved in USAID-financed efforts have agreed to eradicate 14,000 hectares of coca.

Given the soil and climatic conditions in southern Colombia, as well as the distance to regional markets, USAID said the introduction of alternative legal crops should be only one of several approaches to this region. The agency said the presence of civilian governmental institutions is critical to achieving sustained results.

"The most effective approach will vary from village to village, depending on geographic conditions and infrastructure to support marketing and transport of legal crops and other products," USAID said. "Helping communities reduce their dependency on illicit income is a long-term, multi-year process."