It was reported in 2000 that the UN International Drug Control Programme was negotiating with the government of Colombia to conduct open field trials of a strain of the fungus Fusarium oxysporum that attacks coca plants, the source of cocaine.
A study conducted by the United Nations, at the request of the Colombian government, found that coca crop production has actually increased since the US began aerial eradication. US State Department figures show coca increasing in Colombia by 268% since large-scale spraying started in 1995. As coca growers move into more isolated areas to escape aerial eradication, their transportation costs increase and they must grow more plants to make the same amount of money. For every hectare of coca crops eradicated in southern Colombia, three hectares of Amazon rainforest are cut down to replace them. Exacerbating the problem, drug producers are interested in keeping supply constant and, in times of increased enforcement, will grow and produce more drugs to make up for expected losses.