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Alternative development is closely associated with reductions in drug crop cultivation at the local level. At present, local successes in such reductions cannot be directly attributed to alternative development interventions because the motivations and circumstances that determine household drug crop cultivation remain largely unexplored. Research has tended to focus on aggregate trends in drug crop cultivation at the national, regional and village levels. The specific socio-economic, cultural and environmental circumstances that influence household production are consequently overlooked in project design. Rather, alternative development initiatives have adopted a uniform approach where emphasis is placed on the high economic returns that the opium poppy and the coca bush are reported to accrue per unit of land.
The present article rejects such a uni-causal explanation of drug crop cultivation, founded as it is on the assumption that drug crop producers are a homogenous group. Instead, an insight is offered into the diverse factors influencing household drug crop cultivation that are currently neglected, including returns on labour, access to credit and land, and the effect of law enforcement and conditionality. The article indicates that the failure to recognize the dynamics of household decision-making has implications for the cost-effectiveness of the current strategy and raises questions concerning the unintended consequences of alternative development. Its impact on the poor and the process of relocation is a particular focus. In addition, the article illustrates that greater attention needs to be given to the timing and interface between law enforcement initiatives and alternative development interventions.
The paper concludes that a greater understanding of the multi-functional role which drug crops play in the socio-economy of the household would assist in determining more effective and sustainable initiatives aimed at reducing both existing and potential drug crop cultivation. It is suggested that the overall success of supply-side interventions will be contingent on reductions in demand both internationally and, increasingly, in source countries.
