Bogota , Colombia ( CNN ) -- Jorge Elias Benjumea proudly inspects his plantain field . The 46-year-old father of three says he 's not only happy his crops are doing well , but also , for the first time in years , he can tell the world that what he 's growing is legal . Benjumea , a resident of the Colombian province of Meta ; used to grow coca , the plant from which cocaine is produced . `` Everything is different now , more peaceful . I go to bed at night with no worries , '' Benjumea says . He used to make $ 2,800 a month growing coca . Now he makes about $ 840 with plantains . On the flip side , he does n't have to deal with guerrillas or drug traffickers anymore . The Colombian government has greatly increased its military presence in the area , improving security and giving farmers an alternative to growing coca . Bolivia hopes for buzz with coca campaign . Benjumea says his peace of mind and the safety of his family are priceless . `` Coca is a plant that can make you a lot of money , but also gives you a lot of headaches , '' he says . He 's part of a new wave of Colombian farmers growing alternative crops in a region called La Macarena . This region was known for decades as a stronghold of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia , the guerrilla group commonly called FARC . La Macarena used to be not only a recruiting and training hub for guerrillas , but also a major coca production center and a key transit route for illegal armed groups . In a community called Albania , farmers grow and process sugar cane . Not far from there , in El Pinalito , also in the province of Meta , another group is venturing into fish farming . Last year they sold 1.5 metric tons of a fish known regionally as cachama . The United States has provided more than $ 7 billion in the past 10 years to help Colombia fight drug trafficking . Most of the money has been used to help Colombia strengthen its military with equipment , training and intelligence . But another portion , recently rising , has been used to provide assistance to farmers interested in developing alternative crops like cacao ( from which chocolate is made ) , plantains , yucca and papaya . Colombian National Security Adviser Sergio Jaramillo said government partnerships with the farmers in Meta have been very successful , but he emphasized that none of this would have been possible without a military presence to improve security . `` You need to stabilize those drug-producing areas . That 's what we 're doing here , and there 's no better investment for prosperity in a country like Colombia than supporting the integrated approach of security and social development , '' Jaramillo said . During a three-day visit to Colombia , U.S. Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske visited several communities that are developing alternative crops and met with President Juan Manuel Santos , a key U.S. ally in Latin America . `` We have to continue to be supportive of Colombia in a whole host of ways , ( and ) none of this was possible without safety and security first , '' Kerlikowske said . According to U.S. government figures , cocaine production in the South American country fell from 700 metric tons in 2001 to 270 in 2009 , a 61 percent decrease . Going into alternative crops has n't been easy for local farmers . At the fish farm in El Pinalito , the locals say at the beginning they only saw `` failures . '' But after getting specialized training and equipment from the government , production began to increase considerably . At the sugar cane processing plant in the Albania community , farmers say they received financial support to buy machinery , which `` made all the difference . ''
Some Colombian farmers take huge drop in income for more safety , peace . National security adviser : `` You need to stabilize those drug-producing areas '' U.S. estimates : Cocaine production in Colombia fell 61 % between 2001 and 2009 . Government helped alternative enterprises start up .