Posted by El Profe for Borderland Beat from FilterMag

Gonzalo Hernandez* first heard the word “fentanyl” about two years ago.

Hernandez, who lives in the sierra in the state of Guerrero in southern Mexico, farms a few hectares of an ejido, a collective farm set up after the Mexican Revolution, where he grows corn, beans and vegetables. But those crops are just for sustenance; low producer prices makes them inviable to bring to market. For Hernandez, like tens of thousands of others in the sierra of Guerrero, the only source of income is papaver somniferum: opium poppies.

“Growing poppies is necessary here,” he told Filter. “Not growing poppies means not having money. There are some little peon jobs here and there, but it’s not enough. Need forces you to do this.”

Hernandez and his family maintain a plot of about half a hectare of poppies, far away from the road and tucked away behind tall rows of corn to protect the plants from their main pest: soldiers. The Mexican Army, which has been on the streets fighting the drug war since 2006, is a constant threat to farmers in the mountains of Guerrero, where patrols enter farms without permission to find and destroy illegal crops.

Part of Hernandez’ poppy plot

Hernandez and other farmers in the area have an effective radio communication system that allows them to warn each other and avoid being caught by army patrols, but there’s nothing they can do to stop the soldiers from destroying their crops.

“You lose all hope when the army comes, because they’re going to destroy your plants and you’re not going to get the money you were hoping for,” he said. “But you just have to step aside, because if you don’t they could take you away.”

Diminishing Returns & more

here

http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2019/02/struggling-to-compete-with-fentanyl.html