Peru has now overtaken Colombia as the largest cocaine exporter in the world. Some regions produce huge quantities of coca leaves and coca paste - which is then turned into pure cocaine destined for Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Until recently, the government did very little to tackle the problem - making Peru an obvious choice for drug traffickers looking to move from Colombia, where they were hunted by the police and US-backed troops.

At times, the government tried a policy of eradication - that is the forced elimination of coca crops by burning or spraying them with chemicals. But many consider this strategy a failure because farmers found other plots of land for coca production.

However, the government of Ollanta Humala, Peru's new president, is taking a different approach to tackling the problem: getting tough on traffickers and encouraging farmers to grow other crops instead of coca.

Firstly, the government wants to help farmers plant alternative crops - such as bananas and coffee. And secondly, they want to increase the state's investments in infrastructure projects in the area dense with coca farming. This could mean more schools and roads. And, finally, Humala says he will go after the drug traffickers and their money. The Shining Path, the Maoist rebel group, in particular will be targeted.

So will Peru's new drugs policy be successful?

Inside Story Americas discusses with guests: Luis Del Valle, a journalist and filmmaker; Kevin Casas-Zamora, the former vice president of Costa Rica; and Sanho Tree, the director for the Drug Policy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies and an expert on the 'war on drugs'.