PERU REVAMPS ANTI-DRUG PROGRAMS

LIMA, Peru -- Peru's anti-drug czar warned about a possible rebound in coca
cultivation Wednesday and said the Andean nation has revamped its efforts
to wipe out the illegal farming of the leaf.

Peru's eradication of coca -- the base ingredient of cocaine -- has been
touted as a major success in the U.S.-led war on drugs. Once the world's
leading producer, Peru slashed its coca production by 70 percent between
1995 and 2001, according to U.S. government figures.

"Drug trafficking is getting worse," Nils Ericsson said. "Now we're facing
the risk of a resurgence."

Ericsson said a clampdown in neighboring Colombia on drug traffickers and
leftist rebels who protect them could be pushing coca production back into
Peru.

Coca prices have risen as prices for the main alternative crops promoted by
the government -- such as coffee and cacao -- have plunged.

Ericsson also admitted that Peru's programs to eradicate coca fields and to
help wean poor farmers from growing the shrub leaf had been "totally
disconnected."

In late June, facing protests from farmers, the government suspended
eradication and so-called alternative development efforts in several major
coca-growing valleys in Peru's eastern jungle.

Ericsson said all suspended eradication has resumed and that a pilot
program will begin this month to encourage farmers to eradicate their own
crops.

Peru hopes to eliminate up to 17,000 acres in 2002, Ericsson said.

The U.S. and Peruvian governments signed an agreement Sept. 12 to revamp
the alternative development program that builds roads and schools in
coca-growing areas and helps farmers switch to other crops, Ericsson said.

The program will be streamlined so assistance reaches farmers more
directly, Ericsson said. The U.S. government agreed to provide $300 million
for the programs over the next five years, he said.

U.S. officials say satellite photos of coca fields show new acreage last
year was offset by eradication, leaving 84,000 acres under cultivation.

The U.N. Drug Control Program, however, using satellite maps, aerial
surveillance and ground assessment work, says Peru's coca crop has expanded
to cover about 114,000 acres in 2001, from 107,000 acres in 2000.