New EU funding to help the fight against drugs in Bolivia

A new project of the European Union was announced on 19 August 2013 by Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, during a visit to the country. It was expected to benefit some 80,000 farmers’ families (and up to 400,000 people indirectly) in Bolivia.

The project, worth €25 million, would help to create new economic opportunities in coca producing areas of the country and to boost alternative forms of agriculture. This new programme would build on the EU’s previous work in fighting drugs, which has already contributed substantially to the reduction of coca cultivation surface (12% reduction in 2011 and 7% in 2012).

• Primary Source

European Commission: MEMO/13/746: Development Cooperation between the EU and Bolivia http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-13-746_en.htm

ESO: Background information: Relations between Peru and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/relations-between-bolivia-and-the-european-union/

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