Colombian coca farmers trapped in drug trade due to lack of crop alternatives

Farmers in Colombia who grow coca, the raw material used to produce cocaine, say they want to leave the illegal drug industry but feel unable to do so. A significant barrier is the absence of adequate government or institutional support to help them transition to legal crops. Without viable economic alternatives, growers find themselves effectively locked into the cocaine supply chain. The situation highlights a broader structural challenge in Colombia's long-running effort to reduce coca cultivation and drug production.