This farmer wanted to quit the cocaine industry - he couldn't

Key Points:

• Thousands of Colombian farmers joined a government crop substitution programme to replace coca cultivation with legal crops, but many, like farmer Perea, returned to coca due to insufficient support and economic hardship.
• The National Comprehensive Programme for the Substitution of Illicit Crops (PNIS), launched after the 2016 peace deal, promised financial aid and technical support but faced delays, weak state presence, and shifting political priorities, limiting its effectiveness.
• Coca cultivation remains high at over 250,000 hectares, driven by coca's economic advantages, ongoing global cocaine demand, and control by armed groups in rural areas, complicating substitution efforts.
• The current government has introduced a new programme, RenHacemos, aiming to improve on PNIS by providing broader economic development support, but many farmers remain skeptical about receiving meaningful assistance.
• Security challenges persist in coca-growing regions despite peace efforts, with criminal groups filling power vacuums and hindering the success of crop substitution initiatives.