The development of this project Young coca and poppy growers in Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru. Biographical experiences, productive activity and future expectations The main objective to carry out an investigation to identify the factors that contribute to young people in rural areas deciding to cultivate or participate in the cultivation of coca or poppy in Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru.

The evidence gathered through the different reports and research analysed indicates that in order to build a multidimensional, development-oriented approach to accompany communities involved in the production of some of these crops, the reality of these communities, specifically that of young people, must be better understood. The focus on this group is relevant considering that a large part of the people involved in activities linked to these types of crops are young people, since the first reason they give for engaging in these activities is profitability and, secondly, the lack of opportunities.

Based on this diagnosis, where it is observed that the experiences of individuals, and especially young people who work with illicit crops, remain largely ignored, this study concentrated on their experiences learning about the difficulties they face on a daily basis, the challenges of growing coca and poppy, and exploring what their expectations for the future are.

Thus, between September 2020 and February 2021, a total of 38 interviews were conducted in these four countries with three research dimensions: personal experience, productive activity and expectations for the future, which served to better understand the personal background of young people involved in the cultivation of this type of crops, the day-to-day aspects of their own productive activity and information relating to their expectations of possible futures.