{"id":17895,"date":"2026-07-19T23:34:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T23:34:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=17895"},"modified":"2026-07-19T23:34:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T23:34:03","slug":"this-farmer-wanted-to-quit-the-cocaine-industry-he-couldnt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=17895","title":{"rendered":"This farmer wanted to quit the cocaine industry &#8211; he couldn&#8217;t"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 300px 160px; gap: 2px; width: 460px; background: #eee; padding: 2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u6574\u884c\u5bbd\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876674\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 90px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876676\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u5de6\u4fa7\u7ad6\u6392 -->\r\n  <div style=\"height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876672\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"height: 500px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876680\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u6469\u5929\u697c\uff08\u548c\u5de6\u4fa7\u5b8c\u5168\u5bf9\u9f50\uff09 -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row: 3\/5; height: 750px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876678\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  \r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e6\" data-zoneid=\"5876682\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Elena Hern\u00e1ndez moved to the coca-growing region of Guaviare during the boom of the 1990s, lured by better pay.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;There was more money back then &#8211; you could see it everywhere,&#8221; she says. &#8220;I managed to save and buy a small house.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">But the coca industry also brought violence and insecurity. Armed groups fought for control, while the government tried to curb production through manual eradication, aerial fumigation and arrests.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">These efforts cut off families&#8217; incomes but failed to stem cultivation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">So when a nationwide substitution programme was introduced by the then government in 2017, Hern\u00e1ndez was eager to sign up, joining around 100,000 families who were promised financial support in return for moving away from coca.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Each household was due to get 36m Colombian pesos ($11,000; \u00a38,000), spread over a two-year period.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;The way it was presented to us, it seemed very promising for the development of our territory,&#8221; says Hern\u00e1ndez.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The programme, known as the National Comprehensive Programme for the Substitution of Illicit Crops (PNIS), was born out of the 2016 peace deal between the government and Colombia&#8217;s largest guerrilla group, Farc.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">In exchange for uprooting their coca plants, farmers would also get technical support, including from agronomists, and advice on soil management.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">While substitution programmes had existed before, they remained limited in scale. PNIS was the most ambitious attempt to date &#8211; and at first appeared to be working.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">In parts of southern Meta and Guaviare, coca fields were replaced by lemon trees, banana crops and small livestock farms. Many farmers, like Hern\u00e1ndez, stayed away from coca.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Yet that does not mean they consider it a success.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;The government wasn&#8217;t very committed to us farmers. We were treated badly,&#8221; explains Hern\u00e1ndez, pointing to problems that emerged early on.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Payments were delayed, and technical support frequently failed to materialise. Weak state presence in rural areas and poor coordination between agencies meant support often did not reach communities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Momentum behind the programme weakened as political priorities shifted. Iv\u00e1n Duque, who became Colombia&#8217;s president in 2018, refocused the government&#8217;s approach on eradication and security strategies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">By the time current President Gustavo Petro took office in 2022, PNIS was behind schedule and struggling to reach communities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">But some farmers did report improvements. For Doralba Bejarano, from Puerto Rico in southern Meta, her situation improved as stalled support began to arrive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;Before the programme we were terrified,&#8221; she says. &#8220;We had to hide the coca paste because the police, the military, would put us in jail.&#8221; Coca paste is a more concentrated form of coca used to produce cocaine, allowing growers to earn more than selling raw leaves.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Now, she says, she has peace of mind: &#8220;I go wherever I want. I have no reason to hide.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">She says many in her community are now receiving government support to promote and sell their non-coca crops and other foodstuffs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \u603b\u5bb9\u5668\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u5bbd908px Grid\u7d27\u51d1\u5e03\u5c40 -->\r\n<div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 728px 160px; gap:2px; width:908px; background:#eee; padding:2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u901a\u680f\u9876\u90e8\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u6a2a\u5e45 908x258 \u8de8\u6574\u884c -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; height:258px; background:#ff6b6b; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114307\" data-width=\"908\" data-height=\"258\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114307});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u7b2c\u4e8c\u901a\u680f\uff1a728\u00d790 \u901a\u680f -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; 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