Colombian abandon coca planting and start to export cocoa

For the first time in the country, producing 10 tons embark product for the European market

Agency for Brazil

It is the first time that the country's producers export volume of cocoa to Europe

Colombian small farmers who once cultivated the coca plant to survive, starting on Thursday (21/2) to export cocoa. In all, 10 tons of product exported to the European market. The farmers are part of the Alternative Development Program of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The program operates in communities of Colombia in preventing the illicit cultivation of the coca plant, offering alternative planting legal crops, such as cocoa and organic coffee.

It is the first time that producers that export volume to Europe. Three hundred and sixty peasants, three associations of the department of Chocó, in the northwest of the country, are part of the project of UNODC alternative crops.

According to the Territorial Administrative Unit Consolidation of Colombia, the export of cocoa is emblematic because it is proof that the program is viable alternative crop. "This represents a significant advance in the fight against illicit crops," said the director of the unit, Germán Chamorro.

The export was possible thanks to the agreement between Zotter, Austrian chocolate company, and the Colombian government. With the first sale abroad, the expectation is that in the short and medium term, more initiatives to consolidate, through agreements between governments, companies and international organizations.

The Austrian company became interested in organic cocoa and Colombian government allowed the certification. Small farmers could Organic Certification International and Fair Trade Certification, two of the most important in the world.

The representative of UNODC in Colombia, Bo Mathiasen also highlighted the importance of the initiative. "It is these partnerships that enable the generation of sustainable and legal resources to improve the living conditions of families who have decided to set aside the illegal economy of illicit coca crops," he added.

The Chocó Department is one of Colombia's poorest, with a strong presence of drug traffickers and illegal armed groups that produce and sell cocaine. Several farmers in the region grow coca pressure from these groups or for lack of choice for planting other crops.

Source: Globo Rural magazine