In Colombia, attempts have been made to control coca production through aerial eradication, manual eradication and voluntary crop substitution programmes.
Available data on land area with planted coca crop suggests that these measures have not been successful in reducing production. What’s more, they have negative effects on the populations that live in those areas.
Rigorous studies on the effectiveness of anti-drug policies indicate that other measures yield better results.
Further research is needed to evaluate the impact and efficiency of sustainable development policy alternatives, and the strengthening of state presence. While alternative measures involve high investment, they seem to have a greater impact in the long-term and few negative side effects for civilian populations.