Pay tribute to the victims of extreme poverty.
Research confirms that factors such as poverty, social, economic and geographical marginalization, and lack of sustainable livelihoods are manifestations of poor levels of development which, alongside governance issues, constitute root causes of large-scale illicit cultivation in rural areas. The income obtained from illicit crop cultivation is used to cover daily living expenses as well as paying debt. UNODC, through its alternative development (AD) and sustainable livelihoods programmes, provides economically viable, legal alternatives to men and women living in poor rural communities involved in coca bush, opium poppy or cannabis cultivation. After introducing high-value crops and new technologies, AD projects consolidate farmers’ organizations, integrating them into a productive chain that leads to commercialization in quality markets and improves their opportunities for revenue generation. Alternative development programmes emphasize implementation of viable agroforestry sch...