Coca cultivation in Colombia grew slightly between 2012 and 2013, according to the annual United Nations coca cultivation survey.
The amount of hectares used for the cultivation of the plant used for Colombia’s most exported illicit drug, cocaine, grew 0.8% from 47,790 to 48,189, said the report released in June.
Last year, the UN reported an 25% drop in coca cultivation.
MORE: UN confirms 25% drop in area used for coca cultivation in Colombia
The stagnating drop in coca cultivation was accompanied by a steep drop in the aerial spraying of coca crops reported by Colombia’s armed forces.
States with the strongest coca cultivation growth rates
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In its monthly security update, Colombia’s Defense Ministry said that the number of sprayed hectares dropped 53% from 100,678 in 2012 to 47,052 last year.
Manual eradication of coca also dropped from 30,486 hectares to 22,960 hectares.
Coca cultivation in Colombia
The increase in coca cultivation was seen in eight of 32 states in Colombia. Nine states showed a drop in coca cultivation.
The states where coca cultivation was most prominent remained in the southwest of the country where the Putumayo and Nariño states were responsible for 43% of the national coca production.
Distribution of coca cultivation throughout Colombian territory
While the United States government last year continued to claim Colombia was the world’s largest producer of cocaine, the United Nations last year said this position had been taken over by Peru.
Sources
- Colombia coca cultivation survey 2013 (PDF / UNODC)