The goal of Maria’s research is to better understand the critical conditions (individual and territorial) of illegal coca crop production in Colombia. This is to identify the enabling environments that may favour the transformation processes in territories and livelihoods affected by coca production. The focus of the research is on rural youth, who are part of diverse social dimensions (e.g. age, generation, ethnicity, gender, race, etc.). They are the most disadvantaged and ignored in Colombia’s territories. My proposal has significance at national and international levels because the project targets rural youth in coca production areas and studies their future relationships and interactions with sustainable agri-food systems. I propose an innovative research approach. It is very different because the research on coca production in Latin America is framed under the traditional law and order focus.