Bolivia and Peru have defended the continued, traditional use of coca leaves which have been chewed by indigenous populations for centuries, after they were criticized by a UN drugs agency report.

Peru. Andean populations created these characteristic agricultural terraces on the hillsides. The Inca system for growing and harvesting coca leaves involved many steps. The plants were grown in ...

In March, a Shining Path ambush on a local farming community left two civilians dead. Peru is one of the world-s largest producers of coca leaf and cocaine, along with Bolivia and Colombia.