Tapping into a niche market for organic cocoa, some Peruvian farmers have turned away
from cocaine in favor of growing beans for high-end chocolate retailers in Europe and the
US.
Deep in a valley where Peru's snow-capped Andes melt into Amazon jungle, Wilder Diaz
Angulo cuts open a football-sized cocoa pod and separates precious brown beans from
their fleshy white placentas.
The farmer takes care not to damage a single bean. That would hurt his chances of getting
the best price for the specialty organic cocoa his cooperative sells for export to high-end
chocolate retailers in Europe and the United States.
Life is calmer now that Mr. Angulo sells cocoa instead of coca.
But just a few short years ago he was dodging bullets and hiding from Peruvian soldiers,
Colombian drug traffickers, and the brutal leftist Shining Path insurgents. Like hundreds
of thousands of other farmers in Peru's fertile San Martin region, Angulo participated in
the global cocaine trade.
"Coca brought lots of easy money… mucho dinero," says Angulo with a wistful smile.
"But now we feel comfortable and safe. We don't have to hide from anyone."
Peru's drug traffickers have moved into more remote areas, and cocoa growers from
across the globe are coming here to learn how to duplicate Peru's success. It's not a quick
fix. But years of coordinated effort by the United Nations, the US and Peruvian
governments, foreign aid groups, local leaders, and the farmers are now paying dividends.
And key reasons for the turnaround – listening to local needs, creating synergy among a
diverse array of actors, and sticking to market fundamentals – could carry lessons for
other "narcostates" such as Afghanistan and Colombia.
"We don't care about coca now," says Tercero Salas, the mayor of the small community.
Complete article in The Christian Science Monitor web site at:
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2010/0201/Peru-farmers-drop-cocaine-in-favor-of-cocoa
