Projects are being designed to fit the needs of different areas. A lot of them come with no knowledge of the area in which they are living and only know about coca growing. It is much more difficult to work with them because you have to start with the basics regarding other crops. In some other areas, it's long-settled peasants who know how to grow other crops. Coffee, yucca, rubber and various fruits are being planted to replace coca.
Cattle raising and fish farming are other options.
In the last two years, coca cultivation in Peru has dropped by about 40 per cent. One factor is the price reduction of the coca leaf due to lower demand at the farmgate level. This is a result of better control of narco-traffic between Peru and neighbouring countries and an increase in coca leaf cultivation in Colombia to control supply. Another factor is alternative development, which provided peasants with viable economic options to coca production. The Peruvian Government has made alternative development central to its strategy to reduce coca cultivation by 50 per cent in the next five years and to eliminate illicit cultivation within ten years.