More than 57 agreements were signed to develop coca free areas in the Cochabamba tropics

One of its main goals is upgrading the quality of life of the population through integral, sustained and balanced development of the Chapare. This will be achieved by assuring sustainability of production, thus permitting farmers to design their future on the basis of legal and profitable income.

Alternative development accomplishments are thus far in a phase of deeper analysis. This new strategy involves agreements on agricultural development without coca in certain zones. Likewise, this strategy will be accompanied by a process, agreed upon by the beneficiaries in the regions, clearly identifying the needs of these communities.

Along these lines, PDAR, between August 1997 and June 1998 achieved the signing of 57 agreements for the establishment of coca-free zones, with the participation of more then 6,000 families of committed growers. In these agreements, the community commits itself to self-policing to avoid new coca cultivation.

These agreements indicate that communities are gradually learning that development is not achieved through coca cultivation but by dedication, pooling of efforts, and a commitment to achieve a better future for this region of high potential.