19 March 2012: The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) have entered into an agreement to cooperate in the promotion of grass-roots development in poor rural communities that are dependent on the cultivation of illicit drug crops.

The agreement aims to, among other things, strengthen alternative development projects in such rural communities, thereby promoting socio-economic transformation which will give local communities a stake in building a sustainable future. In the implementation of the agreement, UNIDO will focus on private sector development, with an emphasis on micro-, small and medium enterprises, agro-business development, and environmental management. UNODC will focus on creating legitimate livelihoods for small and marginalized farming communities in order to limit their dependence on illicit drug crop cultivation.

This agreement builds on a previous joint UNODC/UNIDO project to provide alternative livelihoods for opium poppy growing communities in Lao PDR, which focused on rehabilitating opium addicts and involving them in income-generating activities; providing social services and basic infrastructure; and improving market access for products.

At the signing of the agreement in Vienna, Austria on 19 March 2012, UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov and UNIDO Director-General Kandeh Yumkella underlined that industrial development, job creation, drug control and crime prevention are vehicles for poverty alleviation, and for enhancing human security, economic growth and sustainable development. Yumkella further highlighted the need to support the livelihoods of poor rural communities that often find themselves dependent on the cultivation of drug crops, through capacity building and job creation. [UNODC News Release] [UNIDO News Release]