A Colombian farmer named Perea joined a government-run crop substitution programme to abandon growing coca, but he was left without assistance and struggled to sell his new crops, leading him to restart growing coca again in 2024. The global supply of cocaine is estimated to come from Colombia, with most coca cultivation taking place on small farms like Perea's, which are often plagued by difficulties such as lack of roads and frequent floods. Researcher Lucas Marín Llanes notes that coca has advantages over other crops due to its quick harvests and ease of transportation, but also acknowledges the challenges faced by farmers in the substitution programmes. Many Colombians who joined the PNIS programme, including Elena Hernández, report being let down with little or no financial support promised to them, leading some to continue growing coca.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
- Published
When Perea stopped growing coca - the raw material used to make cocaine - he vowed never to plant it again.
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he → publish → it
He uprooted the green bushes on his small farm in a remote corner of the province of Meta in Colombia, reachable only by river, and replaced them with legal crops like cassava and plantain.
Perea was one of thousands who joined a government-run crop substitution programme aimed at helping farmers abandon coca.
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farmers → uproot → coca
But much of the promised assistance never arrived, and a lack of roads and recurring floods made it difficult to sell his produce.
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it → promise → produce
In 2024, disillusioned, he began planting coca again.
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he → begin → coca
"It's a tragedy," says Perea.
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Perea → say → ?
"But when you have children and no work, what choice do you have?
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you → have → choice
If no help ever arrives, you go back to growing it."
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you → arrive → it
The coca leaf is an ancestral crop traditionally used by indigenous communities in teas and medicines.
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leaf → use → teas
But today most of it is processed into cocaine.
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most → process → cocaine
An estimated 70% of the global supply of the illegal drug comes from Colombia.
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% → estimate → Colombia
"Coca has some major advantages over other crops," says Lucas Marín Llanes, a Colombian researcher who focuses on the coca economy and substitution strategies.
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who → have → economy
"Harvests are quick - farmers can get three or four a year - it's easier to transport, and farmers know what price they'll get."
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they → get → price
Research Marín has worked on shows coca cultivation can also boost local economies, increasing municipal GDP by as much as 10% in some areas between 2014 and 2019.
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cultivation → work → 2014
Substitution programmes were designed to help Colombian coca farmers move away from the crop and build legal livelihoods.
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farmers → design → livelihoods
Yet today the planting of coca is at record levels at more than 250,000 hectares - and many Colombians in substitution programmes say they have been let down.
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they → say → programmes
Elena Hernández moved to the coca-growing region of Guaviare during the boom of the 1990s, lured by better pay.
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Hernández → move → pay
"There was more money back then - you could see it everywhere," she says.
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she → be → it
"I managed to save and buy a small house."
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I → manage → house
But the coca industry also brought violence and insecurity.
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industry → bring → violence
Armed groups fought for control, while the government tried to curb production through manual eradication, aerial fumigation and arrests.
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government → fight → eradication
These efforts cut off families' incomes but failed to stem cultivation.
So when a nationwide substitution programme was introduced by the then government in 2017, Hernández was eager to sign up, joining around 100,000 families who were promised financial support in return for moving away from coca.
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who → cut → coca
Each household was due to get 36m Colombian pesos ($11,000; £8,000), spread over a two-year period.
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household → get → period
"The way it was presented to us, it seemed very promising for the development of our territory," says Hernández.
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Hernández → present → territory
The programme, known as the National Comprehensive Programme for the Substitution of Illicit Crops (PNIS), was born out of the 2016 peace deal between the government and Colombia's largest guerrilla group, Farc.
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programme → know → government
In exchange for uprooting their coca plants, farmers would also get technical support, including from agronomists, and advice on soil management.
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farmers → uproot → management
While substitution programmes had existed before, they remained limited in scale.
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they → exist → scale
PNIS was the most ambitious attempt to date - and at first appeared to be working.
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PNIS → appear → date
In parts of southern Meta and Guaviare, coca fields were replaced by lemon trees, banana crops and small livestock farms.
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fields → replace → trees
Many farmers, like Hernández, stayed away from coca.
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farmers → stay → coca
Yet that does not mean they consider it a success.
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it → mean → ?
We were treated badly," explains Hernández, pointing to problems that emerged early on.
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that → treat → problems
Payments were delayed, and technical support frequently failed to materialise.
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support → delay → ?
Weak state presence in rural areas and poor coordination between agencies meant support often did not reach communities.
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support → mean → communities
Momentum behind the programme weakened as political priorities shifted.
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priorities → weaken → programme
Iván Duque, who became Colombia's president in 2018, refocused the government's approach on eradication and security strategies.
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who → become → strategies
By the time current President Gustavo Petro took office in 2022, PNIS was behind schedule and struggling to reach communities.
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PNIS → take → communities
But some farmers did report improvements.
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farmers → report → improvements
For Doralba Bejarano, from Puerto Rico in southern Meta, her situation improved as stalled support began to arrive.
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support → improve → Meta
"Before the programme we were terrified," she says.
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she → say → programme
"We had to hide the coca paste because the police, the military, would put us in jail."
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police → have → jail
…and 24 more, not listed.
