Concept
When this project was first conceived and developed, it was conceived along narrow agricultural lines. Basically, agriculturists tried to identify crops that generated more income than the opium poppy. In the late seventies and early eighties, it was recognized that this focus was too narrow and did not recognize the social and cultural roles of opium cultivation and consumption played in the lives of the opium farmers of northern Thailand. Development projects started to address many or even all aspects of rural life, including health, education and social issues. The term 'integrated rural development' became more popular than 'opium replacement' and 'opium substitution'. In the nineties, this phrase also passed out of use, and was replaced by 'Alternative Development'. The term (and minor variants) is still used in Latin America (where the approach is used as a strategy for reducing the supply of coca as well as opium). The United Nations refers to these kinds of projects as 'Sustainable Alternative Livelihoods' and in Afghanistan most of the agencies refer to them as just 'Sustainable Livelihoods'. Although practitioners often say that there are differences between these terms, in essence they all mean the same thing.
Read more about this topic: Opium Replacement
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