Colombian coca leaf farming hit two-decade high in 2023, UN says

19/10/2024 7:18

        Colombian land dedicated to the cultivation of coca leaves, a raw ingredient for cocaine, jumped 10% last year to reach the largest area in over two decades, a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) found on Friday.
        
        Some 253,000 hectares were planted with coca leaf in 2023, the report said, up from 230,000 in 2022. This brought last year's potential cocaine production up 53% to 2,644 metric tons, compared to 1,738 metric tons a year earlier.
        
        The small-scale cultivation of coca leaf, which is traditionally chewed for energy or as an antidote for altitude sickness, is legal for some indigenous communities in Colombia.
        
        UNODC said the expansion was mainly in southwestern departments of Cauca and Narino, whereas it remained relatively stable across the rest of the country.