Aerial spraying will be no more effective in Colombia than it was in other Andean countries. Fumigations clearly do not equate with eradication. Economic need drives poor families further into the dense jungle and sheltering mountains to raise the illicit leaf. Through Plan Colombia the U.S. purports to be using a military strategy to address its drug problem. Indigenous and Campesinos Want Coca Alternatives Putumayons ask why Plan Colombia money was not directed towards development projects providing sustainable alternatives to coca cultivation.
Economic desperation is what drives many campesinos to take advantage of the active coca market.
They would certainly take advantage of viable alternatives. However, there is no infrastructure to facilitate the raising and marketing of alternative forms of agriculture. One indigenous campesina illustrated the point by comparing the market value of rice and coca. While rice pays 800 pesos per kilo, coca paste pays 3,500 pesos per gram. I want to feed my daughter and send her to school.