 | Cultivation of coca — the base ingredient of cocaine — surged 39% in Colombia in 2014, which was followed by a 42% increase the next year. 2016 saw another significant increase, rising a little over 13%, from 392,897 acres to about 444,800 acres. The US State Department wrote this month that cocaine use and availability is on the rise in the United States for the first time in nearly a decade. |  |
 | Under a canopy hiding his laboratorio from patrolling military aircraft, Ricardo shreds green coca leaves until they carpet the jungle floor like confetti. It’s an initial step in a process that will turn the leaves into a light paste called pastabase |  |
 A farmer pours liquid of coca-paste residue after cooking it in his kitchen | Though he earns just $112 a month farming coca, he says he’ll make half that growing other crops. Resistance to the government’s haphazard eradication efforts has been considerable. 85 percent of the population lives in poverty. Since peace talks began in 2012, coca production in guerrilla-controlled areas has more than tripled. According to the director of anti-narcotics police in Tumaco, cartels are winning over farmers by paying them about $35 for a day’s protest. |  |
 | FARC regulated the black market and maintained a low but steady price. Now, with the FARC out of the picture, farmers say narcotraffickers have dropped the price. Another farmer estimates he takes home about 500,000 pesos a month — about $176 — based on a price of $350 to $560 per kilogram of pastabase. |  |
