Peru will fulfill an "historical" goal this year due to the eradication of 35,000 hectares of illegal coca crops, government-run National Commission for Development and Life without Drugs (Devida) Chairman Alberto Otarola said.
"This means there are 35,000 hectares less for drug trafficking and other 35,000 more for alternative development," he told Andina news agency.
The exact figure will be announced in the following days. According to the official, the result will be "historical."
"We will no longer have that much coca, anymore," he added after reminding the United Nations (UN) estimated nearly 42,000 hectares may have been planted in Peru.
"Devida has signed agreements with municipalities, in order to access several areas through crop post-eradication stage programs," the Chairman mentioned.
For many years, the UN has been in charge of measuring the number of hectares of coca grown in Peru, Bolivia and Colombia through satellite images.
"This year, the alternative development has helped to take thousands of hectares away from drug-trafficking. Over the last four and a half years, the current administration has seized 10,000 kilograms more of chemical inputs, if compared to the previous two administrations," Otarola stressed.
(END) HMC/MVB
Published: 12/7/2015