LIMA, March 17 (Xinhuanet) -- The Peruvian government has pushed forward a policy called "substitution economy" in its coca growing regions in the past few years, encouraging farmers to grow cash crops to replace coca, the raw material for drug production.

    At the opening ceremony of the 22nd annual International Drug Enforcement Conference held Tuesday, Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo said that fighting drug trafficking is a basic policy upheld by the Peruvian governments throughout the years, on which the current Peruvian government spends 260 million US dollars annually.

    This year, while fighting against drug trafficking, the government also plans to launch a series of anti-drug campaigns, which consists of 78 programs to help growers substitute coca withcrops such as coffee, cocoa and palm trees.

    According to the programs, the Peruvian government will financeand encourage the coca growers to grow substitution crops, providethem with free seeds and saplings and grant them with loans for purchasing fertilizers, pesticides and farm tools. The government will also help farmers associations set up technical training centers and invest in building roads and bridges to facilitate themovement of farm products.

    Peru used to be the largest coca producer in the world, with the output accounting for half of the world production. In the early 1980s, coca growing acreage reached 130,000 hectares, with the annual output exceeding 500 tons.

    Coca growing has seriously damaged the ecosystem of the Amazon region in Peru, where over 2,300,000 hectares of forests have been destroyed.

    The Peruvian government has strengthened its combat against drug business in recent years. The Peruvian police seized 27.4 tons of drugs and arrested 11,880 suspected personnel last year alone.

    What's more, the Peruvian government strengthened cooperation with international community in the anti-drug campaign. It signed a series of anti-drug cooperation agreements with the United States, while holding joint operations with its neighbors, such asColombia, Bolivia and Brazil to stem drug export.

    Thanks to the anti-drug operations and the government's policy of replacing coca with cash crops, the coca growing area in Peru dwindle gradually. Official statistics indicate that at present coca growing area has dropped to 31,100 hectares, marking the lowest level in 20 years. Last year, the Peruvian police destroyed11,300 hectares of coca plantation.

    However, Peru remains one of the largest coca producer in the world, only next to Colombia. Driving by factors such as the rising of coca price, the lack of marketability of cash crops, andthe insufficiency of government funds for substitution crop growing, some peasants might revert to coca growth. Enditem