Maria Angelica Rodriguez

Colombian social entrepreneur creating economic opportunities through coca crop substitution programs

Maria Angelica Rodriguez: Peace Through Plantations

Maria Angelica Rodriguez (b. 1988) is a Colombian economist and social innovator who pioneered community-based solutions to Colombia's coca leaf problem. Founder of Crecer Juntos, she developed the 'EcoExchange' model that provides alternative income streams for former coca farmers through sustainable agroforestry projects. Her programs have converted 15,000 hectares of coca plantations into coffee, cocoa and medicinal plant farms since 2018.

Rodriguez's approach combines fair-trade certification with mobile banking systems, ensuring farmers receive 80% of final product profits. Her partnership with Nescafé has created the first fully traceable 'Peace Coffee' supply chain, now available in 20 European markets. The program's success led to a 67% reduction in coca cultivation in Colombia's Caquetá region between 2020-2023.

A Harvard Kennedy School graduate, Rodriguez advises the Colombian government on rural development policies. Her Peace Agriculture Index has become an international benchmark for measuring socio-economic impacts of crop substitution programs. In 2022, she launched the 'Women's Cocoa Collective' to empower female farmers in post-conflict zones.