Over the longer term, they help to diversify food production and reduce the threats posed by unstable markets, insufficient rainfall and pests. They also protect the environment by maintaining soil fertility and preserving forest cover. What we're trying to do is provide an attractive income comparable to other legal economic activities that farm families have at their disposal. If we can raise local standards of living and improve household nutrition and health, we can make farmers far less interested in running the risks of growing coca. The other thing people have to understand is that, on their own, projects like this can't put an end to coca cultivation.
Local farmers receive training in wood processing.
FAO Photo Alternative sustainable development projects are only one element in the Bolivian Government's four-pronged approach to shutting down the cocaine industry. Between 1990 and 1999, eradication campaigns reduced the country's coca fields by more than half, from 50,300 hectares to approximately 21 800. If the forest management plans and agroforestry systems are to succeed over the long term, local communities must be willing and able to accept the responsibility for their maintenance once the project ends. Consequently, the project includes a high level of community participation. FAO has worked to bring together farmers, local governments, the business sector and other groups that have a stake in community development, with an emphasis on training.