FARMERS IN PERU GET HELP FROM WINROCK

Winrock International's Tom Green is on the front lines of the war against
illegal drugs and so far his organization's efforts at persuading Peruvian
farmers to root out illegal coca plants and replace them with produce is
working.

"I feel this work is important," Green said. "I get a lot of satisfaction
from meeting the challenges of a developing world."

Green is the home office coordinator for Peru and project director for
Winrock International, a Morrilton-based nonprofit organization. Winrock has
teamed up with the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) to spearhead the Alternative Development Program, which encourages
farmers in Peru to switch from growing illicit coca crops to growing legal
produce for resale into local and continental South American markets.

Green has found his skills as an electrical contractor, a self-employed
fisherman and a Peace Corps volunteer help him in his new endeavors. " We
aim to help the farmers grow crops that are not only legal, but also more
lucrative than the coca leaf," Green said.

Winrock began the Alternative Development Program in 1997 to support Peru's
efforts to stem the sources of cocaine. The country only recently emerged
from decades of political instability and guerrilla war. One of the most
ruthless terrorist groups in Peru, the Maoist Sendero Luminoso, also known
as the Shining Path guerrillas, obtained most of their financial support
through the production of cocaine. This terrorist group often forced local
farmers at gunpoint to help them grow the coca leaf, the key ingredient of
cocaine. After the 1989 election of Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, the
government began a long-term campaign of law enforcement and rural
development that freed rural areas from the stranglehold of the Shining
Path.

The Alternative Development Program is designed to wean Peruvian farmers
from dependence upon coca crops. Though Winrock and USAID work together to
set goals, the agencies generally operate separately. USAID is chiefly
responsible for helping Peru destroy coca crops, make arrests, control the
airspace, and develop an infrastructure of roads and communications to these
rural areas. Winrock then helps the former coca growers choose and cultivate
legal crops that will enable them to make a profit and improve their
standard of living.

"Our battle is more of an economic one," Green said.

Winrock starts the process by organizing farmers into cooperatives, and
training them en masse to successfully and efficiently grow various kinds of
produce. Also, the farmers learn the intricacies of their local markets and
how to maximize their personal profits.

"We look for crops that have a high export value and will bring a high rate
of return for these farmers," said Jim Yazman, senior program officer.

Based on this training, each individual can choose the crop he wishes to
grow, based on the soil conditions and climate of their private farm, as
well as consumer demand in the area. Most farmers have chosen to produce
coffee, cacao, milk, rice seed, bananas, heart-of-palm, and pineapple.

"Nearly all of the Peruvian farmers are quite willing to return to legal
crops," Green said. "Many of them were forced to grow coca, which wasn't as
lucrative as most of the crops they had been growing before, under threats
by the guerrillas."

Winrock's Peru contract with USAID commits them for five years, at an
estimated total USAID-funded expenditure of $22 million. USAID provides the
funding. Winrock officials estimate that the program reclaims 1,000 acres of
farmland per year. Their success in Peru has enabled them to expand this
program into Bolivia, at a smaller expenditure of $1 million per year, also
financed by USAID. Winrock has a one-year contract in Bolivia, but Yazman
expects this to be extended to three years.

Winrock International is a nonprofit organization that manages programs in
Arkansas, the rural South, and around the world that focus on creating
opportunities for increased incomes and employment, along with improved
management of natural resources. The organization was established in 1985
with the merger of three organizations founded by former Arkansas Gov.
Winthrop Rockefeller: the Agricultural Development Council, the Winrock
International Livestock Research and Training Center, and the International
Agricultural Development Service.