Life in coca producing areas

Life for farmers in Colombia's coca-growing regions is precarious. While most farmers would prefer to grow food crops, they feel compelled to cultivate coca crops due to the lack of infrastructure and access to markets. The average coca grower cultivates about ten acres of coca, which provide four or five harvests annually if not fumigated. At the same time, the farmer cultivates his food crops, which often consist of yucca, bananas, corn, rice, potatoes, papaya and avocados, which are primarily used to feed his family.

On days during the growing period, farmers use pesticides to protect the valuable coca bushes. When a field of coca is ready to be harvested, the farmer and several hired coca pickers spend their days removing the leaves from the bushes by hand. The full sacks of leaves are then taken to a small coca paste lab located on the farm and the coca pickers process the leaves into paste.

Coca-growing farms are usually located in remote rural regions that lack any significant infrastructure. Many coca farms do not have running water or electricity, although a gasoline generator might provide a few hours of electrification in the evenings. A farmer's wife is usually the primary caregiver to the children and is responsible for maintaining the home and cooking meals, all of which take up most of her day. A farmer's children often have to travel great distances to attend school, and many do not go beyond a primary education.

Since many coca-growing regions are also in conflict zones, farmers and their families live under constant threat of violence. Many farmers live in guerrilla-dominated regions and are accused of being rebel sympathizers by the military and the paramilitaries. As a result, they routinely face harassment, arrest, forced displacement and death. When both guerrillas and paramilitaries are active in a region, both armed groups pressure farmers into selling their coca paste to them. 

Farmers also live under the constant threat of aerial fumigations. If a farmer's coca crops are fumigated, he can lose significant income and struggle to pay for the necessary pesticides, chemicals and the salaries of his coca pickers. The loss of income makes it especially difficult for the farmer to purchase food if the fumigations have killed his food crops, which is a common occurrence. Consequently, a farmer and his family can face hunger as a result of fumigations. Not surprisingly, fumigations have led to many families being displaced in order to seek an alternative means of survival.

Ultimately, cultivating coca in Colombia is a dangerous economic venture that provides a precarious existence that may or may not elevate a family slightly above the poverty level. As a result, most coca farmers yearn for viable economic alternatives.

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