The first rural development efforts to address illicit cultivation were started the 1970s with projects that narrowly focused on substituting drug crops for other products were predominantly negative. Therefore, the AD concept was gradually widened and comprehensive approaches were developed in order to contribute to sustainable conversion of drug crop cultivating areas. At the UN General Assembly special session on the world drug problem in 1988 the UN General Assembly defined AD as a rather broad concept compatible with UN member states: "a process to prevent and eliminate the illicit cultivation of plants containing narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances through specifically designed rural development measures in the context of sustained national economic growth and sustainable development efforts in countries taking action against drugs, recognizing the particular socio-cultural characteristics of the target communities and groups, within the framework of a comprehensive and permanent solution to the problem of illicit drugs. There are many controversies on AD approach on Drug problem. The double targeting of AD is particularly criticized: AD is often understood as a measure of drug supply control that aims to reduce drug crop cultivation on the one hand and on the other hand to promote sustainable rural development and to reduce poverty. The weighting of targets frequently underestimates the functional logic of how drug economies work. Even now, some governments reflect this bias by continuing to demonstrate a preference for drug crop substitution. Drug economies flourish because the framework conditions permit them to do so – poverty, violence, weak political and judicial systems, absence of public institutions and control mechanisms, well- established trafficking networks for drugs and the lack of infrastructure and access to legal markets are the main factors pushing farmers to grow drug crops.
