A FOOTHOLD IN WAR ON DRUGS

With U.S. Aid, Bolivian Farmers Turn From Coca To Legal

CHIMORE, Bolivia -- Declaring a victory in the drug war, the Bolivian
government says a U.S.-financed campaign has wiped out coca farming in the
Chapare region, once a major world producer of coca.

But farmers who were persuaded to give up coca in favor of legal crops say
the victory may be short-lived if they don't receive financial aid. They
called on the United States to help by buying more of their bananas,
oranges, and pineapples.

"You all have to open up your markets," said 30-year-old Beningo Cossio, a
coca farmer turned honey producer, referring to the United States. "Our
products are only being sold locally and that's not enough."

Since taking office in 1997 and pledging to rid Bolivia from the list of
drug-producing countries by 2002, President Hugo Banzer has moved
aggressively to wipe out illegal coca, the raw ingredient of cocaine.

As part of the effort, more than 106,000 acres of coca farms have been
uprooted in the Chapare region in the last three years. The last 50 acres
were destroyed this week while a three-day international coca eradication
conference was being held in Bolivia.

For farmers accustomed to the lucrative profits of coca, the switch to
legal crops has meant a blow to their livelihood. The coca leaves sell for
nearly $5 a pound, while crops such as pineapple - one of the alternative
development crops in Chapare - sell for 10 cents a pound.

Herbert Muller, an economist and a former Bolivian government minister,
said the eradication program has resulted in an annual loss of $300 million
to the economy of South America's poorest nation.

U.S. officials concede that more needs to be done to help the farmers. But
they also point out Bolivia has received billions of dollars in U.S. aid in
recent decades.

Members of Congress are tentatively scheduled this year to decide whether
to loosen up the U.S. market for Bolivian imports such as Andean textiles
and the Chapare's alternative crops.