USAID Extending Life of Colombian 'Alternative Development' Program

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is planning to infuse several hundred million additional dollars into “alternative development” projects in Colombia over the next five years, according to a review of recently released policy planning documents. The programs are extensions of existing illicit-crop substitution efforts that USAID has supported since 2001. USAID also is proposing to change how it doles out money for its Colombian development projects. Rather than distribute the funds via multiple contracts, as it has done in the past, the agency’s Agriculture & Alternative Development Office instead will link the purse strings of various commerce- and government-strengthening initiatives. USAID and the Government of Colombia will accomplish this task by assigning responsibility to “a single contractor or a consortium of firms,” the agency said Jan. 28 in a pre-solicitation notice discovered in the federal Electronic Posting System database.

A close look at these and other recently released contracting documents reveals how the U.S. government intends to remain involved in the affairs of the Government of Colombia for a long time: “Although there has been considerable progress, Colombia remains a major foreign policy concern to the United States. It supplies an estimated 90% of U.S. cocaine imports, and it represents a potential destabilizing force within the fragile Andean region. The mutually reinforcing problem of narcotics and illegal armed groups undermines growth and stability in Colombia, and is a threat to its neighbors, including the United States.”

USAID expects to hold a series of Bidder’s Conferences to discuss four of its current procurement actions. It has scheduled its next meeting on Feb. 14 at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC, to meet with potential contractors. The gathering will address contracting opportunities specifically for the Areas for Municipal Development Program, also known as Areas de Desarrollo Alternativo a nivel Municipal, or ADAM.

The stated aim of the ADAM program – which could receive up to $205 million over the next five years – is to improve the “capacity and performance” of contiguous groups of local governments in Colombia, some which have illicit crops within their districts and some which do not.

“The emphasis will be on creating sustainable economic activities throughout the groups of municipalities, at the same time that efforts are undertaken to eradicate illicit crops within the area,” USAID said in a recent Statement of Work, which elaborates on its plans to possibly extend the ADAM program for another five years. “By emphasizing promotion of licit crops and economic activities throughout the area, the program will discourage a simple shift of production location as eradication progresses.”

The project work-statement mirrors the U.S. government’s previous claims that “aerial spraying of herbicides has had the greatest impact on eradication, both in terms of direct eradication and of encouraging farmers to seek alternative development assistance.” However, there is no mention of the downside of aerial spraying and how it purportedly causes environmental damage and destroys existing, legitimate farmland.

Up to $160 million is the next three to five years is tentatively slated to be invested in a related project, the Additional Investment for Sustainable Alternative Development Program, also known as Mas Inversion para el Desarrollo Alternativo Sostenible, or MIDAS. The task of the MIDAS program is bolster Colombia’s small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), which have faced “informational and market development barriers” that have hampered the SME growth potential, the USAID pre-solicitation notice says.

“The Colombian private sector reflects the broad continuum of entities which range from large, sophisticated corporations owned by Colombia or multinational investors, as well as entrepreneurs engaged in micro enterprise business ventures,” the document says. “Each class of business entity has the potential to expand its operations and to create new job opportunities that will encourage the unemployed to avoid the entrapment of illicit activities.”

The bolstering and training of municipal government systems and officials, combined with supporting the growth of lawful commercial enterprises, may indeed have a positive effects on the struggling Colombian economy. However, it remains to be seen whether the programs will attain USAID’s professed “well-intentioned application” of resources to improve the administration of access to justice, protect human rights, and reduce corruption.