Colombia lifts ban on glyphosate coca spraying

Colombia's government has lifted a ban on aerial spraying of coca crops with glyphosate, opening a path to resume a practice suspended in 2015 over health and environmental concerns.

The resolution, dated August 18 and made public on August 28, says the repeal does not mean spraying will automatically restart. It allows glyphosate fumigation if minimal adverse effects are ensured.

The earlier ban made any resumption conditional on measures to take communities into account and prevent health and environmental damage.

Farmers in Colombia say glyphosate spraying harms their livelihoods more than drug cartels. The World Health Organization believes the herbicide is probably carcinogenic to humans.

President Abelardo de la Espriella, who took office this month, has vowed to target drug-running armed groups. Colombia has joined the Shield of the Americas, a US-backed anti-cartel alliance that also includes Argentina, Ecuador and El Salvador.