"Prices are (very) bad," Carlos told AFP in his small, makeshift lab. At the end of the trading chain, the cocaine made with his paste would be worth millions. Once harvested, the coca leaves reach Carlos, who cooks them, along with a mixture of chemicals, on a small stove until they yield a white substance.Ĭultivating his two hectares had cost him about $660, Carlos told AFP, and normally he would be able to sell the product for about $4,000.īut with a dip in demand and historically low prices, he has so far sold only $154's worth. Their hands covered in scratches, groups of "raspachines" or expert coca pickers, advance at great speed through the sea of green crops in Llorente. Carlos is not his real name - the grower wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals from armed groups operating near his farm in Llorente in Colombia's southern Narino department, where increasing numbers of small-scale coca producers worry where their next meal will come from.
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