U.S. May Shift Focus of Peru Development Policy to Forced, Not Voluntary, Coca Eradication

The document focuses on the attempted stimulation of commercial endeavors for farmers and others currently involved in coca production. However, USAID ackowledges that it has limited expectation for additional volunteers to give up coca growing; consequently, rather than taking a carrot-and-stick approach, the agency's alternative development vision for the next few years may center upon what it euphemistically calls "post-programmed" eradication, indicating an escalated use of force to encourage participation in the U.S.-led endeavor. The SOW says, for instance:

The primary focus of the activity will be post-programmed eradication alternative development, with a somewhat lower level of investment of resources on consolidating the gains of the current program. Voluntary eradication alternative development will be a much less central focus of the program than it has been in prior years, given the more limited universe of remaining communities that would be receptive to that approach.

The new Participatory Alternative Development Activity (PADA) project, as it is known, will seek to:

[B]uild on the achievements attained by the Alternative Development Program in the period 2002-2007, during which the Program supported the transition of over 800 communities and 70,000 families (over 60% of them former coca growers) to a licit lifestyle after voluntary eradication of their coca crops.

As mentioned above:

A major new and still-developing innovation of the current activity was a post-programmed (i.e. post-forced) eradication development program implemented in areas where growing coca is a more central component of the local economy than was true for the voluntary eradication program.

USAID must receive public comments on the draft SOW no later than January 31, 2007 at 5:00 p.m., Lima time. Send all comments to Ms. Liliana C. Murguia at lmurguia@usaid.gov as well as a copy to Doanh Van, Regional Contracting Officer at dvan@usaid.gov. Questions regarding this request for comments likewise must be submitted to these e-mail addresses.