The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (MAGA), invested 30 million quetzals (3.8 dollars) to help growers in areas where poppy and marijuana cultivation are most prolific to replace them with potatoes and fruit trees.
Poppies are the source of raw opium, from which drugs like heroin and as sedative medicines like morphine are processed.
According to the authorities, it is common to find marijuana and poppy crops between the Tajamulco and Tacaná volcanoes due to the remoteness of the towns where licit crops could be distributed.
"We are reaching these places and they (the growers) are offered the opportunity to seek alternatives to illicit crops," says the Minister, Elmer Lopez.
The integrated rural development strategy will seek to educate the population in health and ecotourism issues, among other topics.
Source: prensalibre.com