Farmers clog city streets

last updated 8 January 2015

Lima, Peru

Thousands of farmers marched into Peru’s capital this week to protest restrictions on the cultivation of coca, the plant used to make cocaine. The demonstrators walked for a week to get to Lima from the jungle areas where coca thrives. The government is demanding that the growers cut back on coca crops to help in the war on drugs. But coca is the main cash crop for thousands of Peruvians. Farmers say they can’t afford to switch to cheaper crops such as bananas and coffee without government subsidies. “We are against drug trafficking,” said Marisela Guillen, a leader of the group. “We just want to survive.”