The National Program for the Substitution of Illicit Crops (PNIS) is the most relevant alternative development initiative within the policies for addressing the drug problem formulated so far in Colombia, due to the number of families linked (99,097), the resources allocated for its implementation and the importance given to the comprehensive attention to this issue within the Final Agreement (FA) established between the FARC-EP and the Colombian State in 2016.

The PNIS was understood as an essential part of peace consolidation, integrated with the implementation of an Integral Rural Reform (RRI), since the presence of illicit crops has historically been closely related to the economy of the armed conflict, which in the last six decades has affected rural communities in particular. However, the implementation of the Program has generated debates in specialized circles, critical reactions from the beneficiary population, as well as provoked and deepened socio-territorial conflicts (CST).

In this context, the following policy brief makes a series of recommendations oriented to the design and implementation of policies and programs for the voluntary substitution of crops of
illicit use, taking up the rural territorial development approach that Rimisp has promoted for more than 30 years in Latin America, and incorporating elements for a better understanding of CST as a contribution to its treatment and transformation.