Coca Eradication
An aggressive program of eradication, begun in earnest with the election in mid-2002 of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, has cut Colombia's potential cocaine production by one-third compared with the year before he took office. That means Colombia now produces 270 metric tons—33 percent—less than it did in 2001 which includes a seven percent reduction in 2004. Cultivation estimates have
been equally impressive with coca cultivation falling from nearly 170,000 hectares to about 114,000 hectares. Further, coca cultivation in neighboring Peru also dropped during the same period to below 30,000 hectares, down from its high point of approximately 130,000 hectares and we see no signs of production expanding significantly. While cultivation in Bolivia was up, it was not nearly enough to affect the predominant trend of falling supply.
|
Year |
Hectares under cultivation
|
Percent Increase |
Hectares Sprayed |
| 1998
|
101,800 |
28 |
49,641 |
| 1999
|
122,500 |
20 |
39,113 |
| 2000
|
136,200 |
11 |
42,283 |
| 2001
|
169,800 |
25 |
77,165 |
| 2002
|
144,450 |
(-15) |
102,225 |
| 2003
|
113,850 |
(-21) |
116,342 |
| 2004
|
114,100 |
0.2 |
120,713 |
As Colombia increased the number of hectares sprayed each year until the total approximated the hectarage of tended crops in the field, growers re-planted and pruned furiously, causing an ever-larger proportion of coca cultivation to be comprised of young or marginally producing fields. Coca bushes in Colombia sometimes are harvested as early as nine months after planting, at which stage they would have lower potential leaf yields than if they were permitted to mature a full 12 months before first harvest. Immature, pruned, and damaged plants can produce some cocaine, but their yield is less than mature plants. This trend of diminishing returns for the growers will continue so long as Colombia continues massive fumigation and the ratio of immature or damaged plants to mature healthy plants increases.
Last Updated: May 12, 2005
