CONTROVERSY OVER US-SPONSORED AERIAL SPRAYING OF HERBICIDE GLYPHOSATE ONTO
COLOMBIA'S COCA FIELDS

Noah Adams, host: From NPR News, it's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Noah Adams.

The South American nation of Colombia supplies more than 80 percent of the
cocaine and half of the heroin consumed in the United States. Over the past
year, the US has given Colombia more than a billion dollars to fight
illegal drugs. About one-third of the US aid money has gone toward a
massive aerial eradication plan. The chemical sprayed on the
drug-producing plants is called glyphosate. As Steven Dudley reports,
there are questions about both the safety and effectiveness of using it to
reduce the drug supply.

Steven Dudley reporting: In the US, glyphosate can be found on store
shelves in products with benign names like Roundup or Rodeo. In Colombia,
it's the most effective anti-drug weapon the government has.

(Soundbite of airplane and helicopters)

Dudley: With helicopter crews keeping an eye out for dangerous drug
runners, a T-65 twin-engine airplane zooms overhead, leaving a white cloud
of herbicides to settle on the coca field below. Coca is the raw material
used to make cocaine, but it is defenseless against the glyphosate-laced spray.

(Soundbite of helicopters)

Dudley: Colombian and US officials say glyphosate is nothing more than a
strong weed killer and, if used properly, can effectively destroy unwanted
crops without causing any damage to the environment. The makers of the
chemical also say studies show it's safe for humans and animals if used
properly. However, on the label, the makers of Roundup warn that direct
contact with the chemical may be dangerous, and spraying from a plane is
not an exact science.

In the middle of this coca field, there's a stream that flows down towards
the valley floor. On the edge of the field, there's a patch where
villagers are growing plantains to sell at the local market. Police Major
General Alfredo Gomez(ph) says these plantains may die because of the
glyphosate, but that's the price of growing coca.

Major General Alfredo Gomez: (Foreign language spoken)

Dudley: 'You can't have plantains where you have coca,' he says. 'Who's
ever growing coca is simply violating the law.' Gomez argues that the coca
growers used processing chemicals that do much more damage to the
environment than glyphosate does. He also says the critics of glyphosate
in Colombia are the beneficiaries of coca. These include left-wing
guerrillas and right-wing paramilitaries who tax coca growers and
traffickers in order to finance their long-running war against one
another. They're scared, says David Becker, a US anti-narcotics official,
because glyphosate actually works.

Mr. David Becker (Anti-narcotics Official): From a period of four or five
years ago, where there was one or two spray planes in the country and they
simply didn't pay any attention to whether or not there was spray
occurring, we come to a point now where there's a clear public reaction on
the part of people who are cultivating against spray and a clear analysis
by the people that are doing cultivation that if spray starts in an area,
your time is limited.

Dudley: Since the spraying campaign began last year, Colombian authorities
say the chemical has destroyed 120,000 acres of coca. Despite US and
Colombian government claims, for some people, the negative effects of
glyphosate are very real.

(Soundbite of applause)

Dudley: At a recent conference on drugs, farmers who've had their coca
fields sprayed with herbicides expressed their anger. This man says the
government's plan is nothing less than a declaration of war against peasant
farmers. Farmers like Jose Francisco Tenorio(ph) can empathize with the
speaker. He says he's seen firsthand what glyphosate can do.

Mr. Jose Francisco Tenorio: (Foreign language spoken)

Dudley: 'It's done a lot of damage,' he says, 'digestive problems and
headaches.' Tenorio says it's even killed some animals. These claims
cannot be substantiated, but Colombian health officials in coca-growing
regions say they've seen more than a thousand cases of skin rashes and
gastric disorders. Colombian agronomists claim hundreds of thousands of
livestock could be affected. And environmentalists say US and Colombian
officials have not studied the possible effects of glyphosate on the
ecosystem of the Amazon region, where much of the spraying is occurring. In
addition, glyphosate has been mixed with other chemicals, and the effects
of the mixture have also not been tested.

Last month, a Colombian judge ordered the government to stop spraying on
Indian reservations after indigenous groups filed suit against the
government for damages. After the US threatened to halt aid, the judge
reversed his order and spraying resumed.

But criticism has continued. Klaus Nyholm heads up the United Nations Drug
Control program in Colombia.

Mr. Klaus Nyholm (United Nations Drug Control): Of course, the fumigation
works, but the result is that the farmer will cut even more forest, and
usually even plant more coca than he would need, because he would expect
the airplane to come back and spray some of it.

Dudley: Nyholm says that fumigation should be strictly confined to the
large coca plantations and the government should launch rigorous economic
development programs to help small farmers. The United Nations official
adds that initial investigations show that total coca cultivation has gone
up since the spraying started. Colombian military authorities say the
amount of coca being grown has increased by as much as 40,000 acres since
the campaign began in December.

(Soundbite of helicopters and airplane)

Dudley: Undaunted by the statistics, the Colombian government continues to
attack the illegal drugs from the sky. In accordance with the wishes of US
anti-drug officials, the government hopes the strategy will help it
eradicate 50 percent of the country's illicit crops in the next five years.
For NPR News, I'm Steven Dudley in northern Colombia.