COLOMBIA / COCA FIELDS TO LEGAL FUTURES

In the hills of Putumayo, Colombia, the land tells two stories. For decades, coca cultivation fueled violence, illicit economies, and fear. Today, some farmers are choosing a different path. UN / UNODC

• Video Length: 00:07:20
• Production Date: 27 February 2026
• Asset Language: Spanish
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME - UNODC
• Subject Topical: AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT; FARMERS; FARMS
• Geographic Subject: COLOMBIA
• MAMS Id: 3539813
• Parent Id: 3539813
• Alternate Title: unifeed260227f

Description

STORY: ALTERNATIVE CROPS
TRT: 07:20
SOURCE: UN / UNODC
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: SPANISH / NATS

DATELINE: OCTOBER 2024, PUTUMAYO, COLOMBIA

Shotlist

1. Various shots, general views of Putumayo
2. Various shots, Sandra Herrera in her home and Sacha Inchi fields that previously grew coca
3. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Sandra Herrera, Sacha Inchi Producer and UNODC project beneficiary:
“Look, down here we have a little coca plant. This is residue of the substitution that was made. The seeds sprout again, but with the scythe, we come back and eradicate these little plants."

4. Various shots, UNODC staff greeting farmers and Sacha Inchi seeds

5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Sandra Herrera, Sacha Inchi Producer and UNODC project beneficiary: “We had a crop that was two months away from harvest. But we fully committed to eradicating our coca, to plant a product that instead of harming people, the community and society, it would help them.”

6. Various shots, Sandra and UN Correspondent in the Sacha Inchi field as Sandra showcases the various plants and pruning practices

7. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Delfina Arboleda, Sacha Inchi Producer:

“We are committed to transforming products at the local level, so that the people of our territory also take advantage of the benefits and properties of Sacha Inchi. We are producing milk, flour, cheese and snacks.”

8. Various shots, Sacha Inchi processing plant
9. Various shots, aerial views of Sacha Inchi fields

10. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Doris Caicedo, Sacha Inchi Producer and UNODC project beneficiary: “Life in the countryside is very difficult, very hard. People get very disappointed. The children ask: “Why study in the countryside?” If they know their grandparents, who were poor, their parents were poor, and they will continue to experience the same poverty in the countryside. They want to go somewhere else where at least they can work. And not to burn their backs in the sun without seeing any progress. My children don't like country life. He seems to like it. He likes spending time with me. God willing, he'll like it.”

11. Various shots, Doris Caicedo, grandson and UN correspondent walking and talking

12. Various shots, sugarcane fields

13. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Mao Bastidas, Sugarcane Producer and UNODC project beneficiary:

“It's important to keep in mind that the first change one must make is a mental change, a mind shift. Understanding that if I think differently, I can live differently.”

14. Various shots, Mao working in Sugarcane fields

15. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Mao Bastidas, Sugarcane Producer and UNODC project beneficiary: “The philosophy of alternative development is the understanding that one can change and operate legally to live peacefully.”

16. Various shots, at border crossing between Colombia and Ecuador; UNODC official interacting with local border police

17. Various shots, Sacha Inichi Processing plant

18. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Christian Arias, Sacha Inchi Exporter, Community leader and UNODC project beneficiary:

“As you can see, this is how the product arrives to the collection area, and this is how we transfer it subsequently to the encapsulation area. The Multi-Active Agribusiness Cooperative of Putumayo integrates 700 beneficiaries at the departmental level. Seven associations and seven municipalities participate in the project. Within all of this, we are applying what is known as the circular economy. Which is what we’re after.”

19. Various shots, Putumayo and farmers

Storyline

In the hills of Putumayo, Colombia, the land tells two stories. For decades, coca cultivation fueled violence, illicit economies, and fear. Today, some farmers are choosing a different path.

UN News correspondent Victoria Fernandez traveled to rural Colombia to meet the farmers, producers, and exporters transforming former coca-growing land into fields of sacha inchi and sugar cane.

Through intimate conversations with Sandra Herrera, Doris Caicedo, Delfina Arboleda, Mao Bastidas, and exporter Christian Arias, UN News explored how alternative development — supported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) — is creating legal livelihoods and challenging the grip of transnational organized crime.

Shot in the fields, processing plants, and border regions of southern Colombia, The Same Soil project is a story of risk, resilience, and the fragile work of cultivating peace.