BOGOTA, March 25 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced the start of a program implemented by his government that establishes payments for the voluntary eradication of coca crops in the Micay Canyon, in the southwest of the country.
In a message posted on his social media account, X, the president asserted that if the collaboration of the peasantry is achieved, the violence in the region, where remnants of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army operate, will end.
He also noted that assistance will be provided in agro-industrial processes and in land titling for agricultural workers.
He also included a video in his post showing a man from the municipality of Argelia uprooting coca plants, while asserting his confidence in the government’s Micay RenHacemos program and stating that he will now plant coffee.
The initiative replicates a similar one originally designed for the Catatumbo region in the northeast, which seeks to transform the territory economically so that families who depend on illicit crops can transition to legal and environmentally sustainable forms of production.
The head of state announced the establishment of the program for the Micay Canyon two weeks ago during a televised Council of Ministers meeting.
The plans designed for that area include initial intervention in the municipality of Argelia, which has a high concentration of illicit crops, covering 3,700 hectares, 31 percent of which are in the El Plateado district. This initiative provides economic incentives for voluntary crop substitution.
It was revealed that the program aims to progressively reduce the number of hectares of coca plantations. It includes actions to restore community trust in the State and consolidate crops such as cocoa and sugarcane.
The initiative also includes offering guarantees for agroindustrial transformation and facilitating marketing resources. — NNN-PRENSA LATINA
