In Colombia, even though many farm communities depend exclusively on the illegal growing of coca to guarantee their subsistence, not all the peasants actually involved get much benefit. Far from it. Indebted to buy the seeds and the necessary equipment, they are then racketed by the FARC*. They are left just enough to sustain life and limb. Contrary to a widespread idea, this drug trafficking and criminality hinders social and economic development much more than it helps.
Moreover, coca growing brings dramatic repercussions for the environment. One demand of the United States was the burning of the coca plants by aerial fumigation. Thousands of hectares of land hence went up in smoke in the last several years, causing the slow death of the forest. Many peasants therefore want to return to a legal economy provided they receive help to start out and are guaranteed to receive the fruits of their labor.
