13:16 | Satipo (Junin region), Dec. 13.
The Alternative Development Program in Satipo (DAS) —supported by the European Union (EU) in four districts of Satipo province— benefited 12,000 families who grow organic crops as an alternative to coca leaf production, EU Ambassador to Peru Diego Mellado said.
In the more than four years since its arrival in the area, the project has provided direct training to locals and worked with native communities to support those who changed their way of life and decided to develop their community.
Mellado went on to say there are many people who can testify to the impact the project had on their lives.
"This wouldn't work without the support of committed people, the four district mayors and Devida; we had an impact on alternative development thanks to these partners," he added.
The project was financed through a grant of €11 million (about US$12.9 million), of which €8 million comes from the European Union, and the rest from the State and municipal governments involved.
He said that even though their main alternative development project is concentrated in this central rainforest zone, the EU also provides direct support to the fight against drug trafficking, through Devida, and to interdiction, through police activity.
"We're also working on alternative development. Plus, we are preventing and making youth aware of the dangers of drugs. We are working on every area," he asserted.
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Published: 12/13/2017