The area devoted to coca cultivation in Colombia grew by more than half last year, with cocaine production up by a third, the UN said Friday in an annual report on the subject.
The total coca-growing area rose from 96,000 hectares in 2015 to 146,000 hectares in 2016 (from 237,000 acres to 361,000 acres), a 52 percent year-to-year rise, the head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Bo Mathiasen, told reporters.