Coca, civil war complicate lives of farmers in eastern Colombia

Published: 2004-11-16

TIBU, Colombia (CNS) -- In the rich agricultural area of eastern Colombia, coca and civil war have complicated the lives of the region's peasant farmers. The farmers have found that coca, the base ingredient for cocaine, is the crop that will make them the most money. But often they face threats from armed groups that want to run the drug business, and a U.S.-backed campaign to eliminate coca poisons other crops as well. Under the best of conditions, running development projects to fight these problems would be a challenge, but in a war zone the difficulties are multiplied. Father Aladiel Rozo Rodriguez is in charge of rural development programs in the Diocese of Tibu. He said that for years many farmers -- up to 80 percent of them -- felt they had no choice but to plant coca. "All they see is that the coca buys food," he said. "The need produced by hunger sometimes makes (the decision) very difficult."

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