Mercy Corps with the 'Something New' Inclusive Rural Development program supports thousands of rural families whose main source of income is illicit crops production.
In this second phase of the program, financed by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and implemented by Mercy Corps and its partners, the National Land Agency, Caficauca and SENA, it seeks to support more rural families to improve the local economic base through a process of voluntary illicit crops substitution.
To expand the scale of impact, we are working in four more municipalities in Cauca in areas with high density of coca production and where coffee is also grown: Argelia, Morales, Cajibío and Rosas.
2,500 agricultural producers have the opportunity to replace their income from planting illicit crops and at the same time improve the productivity and quality of a new crop. This also strengthens the sales channels for their licit agricultural productions.
1,000 rural workers participate in technical training processes, in arts and crafts to improve their employability with the aim of generating inclusive enterprises that promote rural goods and services.
‘Something New’ formalizes the property rights of 2,000 rural properties in Cauca.
The objective of transforming the rural territory is achieved with new plantings of different products, seeking to promote access to productive assets such as rural property rights, assistance and technical training for rural workers, credits and public goods.
