Bolivia:
Agricultural Overview
 Background
Bolivia is a sparsely
populated landlocked nation in South America, with sizable natural resources
(minerals, natural gas, forests) and agricultural land. It has a total
population of approximately 8.9 million people, and a total land area of about
108 million hectares. Bolivia is nearly self-sufficient in grain production,
importing only a modest quantity of wheat on an annual basis. However, this is
largely the result of low per capita consumption, with an estimated 60 percent of the
population living below the national poverty line. The country’s innate
agricultural production capacity significantly exceeds current output levels
given the sizable untapped land resources that still exist in the eastern
lowlands and the huge scope for crop yield improvement from greater usage of
fertilizers and irrigation. Irrigated crops account for only about 130,000
hectares or 6 percent of total area devoted to foodgrains and oilseeds.
Meanwhile Bolivia has one of the lowest rates of fertilizer use in the world
(lowest in the Western Hemisphere), averaging 1-2 kilograms per hectare (World
Resources Institute). By comparison, the South America region as a whole has
fertilizer use rates averaging 74 kilograms per hectare, while the lowest rates
outside Bolivia average 29 Kg/Ha (Paraguay and Guyana).
FAO
estimates that the rural population in Bolivia amounts to about 3.2 million
people (36 percent of total population), but that the vast majority of
productive land is devoted to cattle pasture. In a November 2004 country
report highlighting the livestock sector in Bolivia, FAO also reported that roughly 80 percent of all farmers
cultivate less than 10 hectares of land, living in the high altitude regions of
the country and the valleys emanating from the northeastern flank of the Andes
Mountains. The remaining farmers who inhabit the vast eastern lowlands own 80
 percent of all agricultural land,
with over 45 percent of this land belonging to large estates of over 5000
hectares in size. The FAO estimated that the total area devoted to major crops in Bolivia
in 2004 (including
all of the major food crops) amounts to 2.1 million hectares. This represents
only 6 percent of the total land devoted to agriculture, while pasture and
cattle ranching occupies 94 percent or 34 million hectares. Major crops grown
(in descending order of magnitude produced) are sugarcane, soybeans, potatoes,
corn, bananas, rice, cassava, plantains, sunflowerseed, sorghum, wheat, and
barley.
Total agricultural production has been increasing only modestly in the last 15
years, largely owing to extremely constrained public and private sector
investment in the sector. Farm credit from established government lending
institutions and private companies is very limited, while there has been a lack of road
and irrigation infrastructure development. Crop research and farm
extension services are also in short supply, with producer groups largely
responsible for servicing their own needs. These shortcomings have hobbled the agricultural sector for decades. The
limited growth achieved in recent years was primarily attributed to the
expansion of area under soybean cultivation and modest improvements in crop
yields for corn, rice, and soybean. Soybean area grew gradually since 1990,
rising 750,000 hectares or 375 percent over the
period. This equates
to an average annual increase of 50,000 hectares, which is modest in comparison
to its neighbor Brazil that averaged nearly 900,000 hectares per annum of growth
during the same period. It is clear that there is ample room for additional
increases in foodgrain production capacity, as much of Bolivia’s pasture
resource lies in perfect juxtaposition to existing farmland. As Brazil has
shown in recent years, rangeland can provide a ready resource for the expansion
of cultivated crops.
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Agricultural
Environment
Bolivia lies between 10-23 degrees south of the equator and has a highly
variable climate owing to its location in the tropics and the extremes of
altitude that exist in the country. Rainfall varies from 75 millimeters (3
inches) in the semi-arid southwestern coastal regions to 2500 millimeters (100
inches) in the tropical Amazonian lowlands in northeastern Bolivia. The Andes
Mountain region occupies about a third of the country and is exemplified by high
altitudes, frigid temperatures, and generally low rainfall. The central valleys
which form the eastern slopes of the Andes have a temperate climate with milder
temperatures and much higher rainfall. The eastern lowlands, which account for
about 60 percent of the country’s land area, have a tropical climate and high
rainfall, with the rainfall intensity declining from north to south. This vast
lowland plain is one of the largest remaining arable land reserves in South
America. Most of the nation’s current agricultural land lies in the eastern
lowlands and receives between 750-2500 millimeters (30-100 inches) of rainfall,
and experiences regular episodes of drought and flooding.
Vast areas of the nation are covered in natural vegetation consisting of
broadleaf forests or savannahs. According to the FAO, most of Bolivia has
soils which are favorable for agriculture. The main constraint are the soils
low natural fertility, though this can be overcome with proper use of
fertilizers and in the development of crop varieties which better tolerate local
and regional conditions. The country’s most important food crop is potatoes,
being the staple food of highland people since Inca times. An estimated 200
varieties are grown. Unlike the major grain and oilseed crops produced in
Bolivia, potatoes are primarily grown on very small terraced landholdings in the
mountains without the aid of chemical fertilizers or modern farm equipment. The
primary commercial or industrial crops produced in the country are soybeans,
corn, and rice; though minor amounts of sorghum, wheat, barley, sunflowerseed,
and cotton are also grown. The croplands devoted to commercial crops are
concentrated in the fertile eastern lowlands and are generally surrounded by
vast areas of pasture, savannah, and forest which could provide ample
opportunity for future growth of cultivated area.
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Because of the tropical to semi-tropical climatic environment in eastern
Bolivia, crops can be grown year-round. Most of the areas in the eastern
lowlands have growing periods of over 240 days per annum, allowing for
multiple-cropping. The main growing season is during the southern hemisphere
summer from October to April, when rainfall is plentiful throughout the bulk of
the country’s major producing areas. Bolivia is divided into nine
departments, with Santa Cruz being the most important crop production region.
Santa Cruz produces the dominant share of all foodgrains and cotton in Bolivia, accounting
for 85 percent of total production. Barley is the only foodgrain not grown
predominately in Santa Cruz, and instead is centered in areas at higher
elevation in the departments of Chuquisaca, La Paz, and Potosi. Though there
has been little growth in overall national crop area in the past 10-15 years,
what little has occurred has been centered in the department of Santa Cruz.
Total crop area in Santa Cruz increased roughly 550,000 hectares from 1993 to
2002, or nearly 80 percent over that 10-year period. Elsewhere, agricultural
expansion was very marginal, averaging less than 5 percent over the ten-year
period in most departments.
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The Bolivian farm community, like most of Latin America, is starkly divided
between large and small landholders, with subsistence agriculture systems
predominating on the large majority of farms. The majority indigenous farm
population (80 percent of total rural population) generally occupies small
terraced properties of less than 10 hectares in the Andean highlands and eastern
valleys. They are typically poor and subsist on local production of potatoes,
broad beans, onions, barley, corn, wheat, fruits and vegetables. Crop yields
are generally low in the highlands and eastern valleys owing to extremely low
levels of fertilizer/manure usage, lack of improved crop varieties, and
irrigation. On the other hand, commercial farmers occupying the eastern lowlands
(in particular the department of Santa Cruz) are intimately tied to the market
economy, producing cash crops on large properties (50-5000+ hectares) with
modern machinery and ample rural labor. They are well-organized into producer
and industry organizations, which grow, process, and market their agricultural
commodities both inside Bolivia and internationally. They have focused
primarily on the production of soybean, sugarcane, corn, rice, sorghum, and
cotton.
Oilseed and Cotton
Production
Oilseed production dominates the agricultural sector in Bolivia, largely owing
to the predominance of soybean as the major field crop in the country.
Over the past 20 years, oilseed and cotton area in Bolivia has increased by a
little over a million hectares, growing from 76,000 hectares in 1985 to 1.13
million this year. The expansion happened gradually, with cultivated area
increasing about 53,000 hectares per year for an average annual growth rate of 5
percent. Over the same period, oilseed production increased to over 1.25
million tons. The overall growth in oilseeds area and production was
largely the result of a sizable expansion in soybean cultivation, as well as a
steady improvement in soybean crop yields. Oilseed yields are highly
volatile in Bolivia, owing to variable rainfall. Periodic droughts as well
as excess rainfall resulting in flooding are quite common in the major producing
regions of the eastern lowlands. Oilseed consumption has also shown strong
growth throughout the last 20 years as a result of the development and expansion
of the domestic oilseed crushing industry. As soybean production expanded
in the 1990’s, soybean product exports surged, soon becoming the nation’s most
valuable agricultural export commodity group.
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The nation’s soybean area is still expanding, while sunflowerseed and cotton
acreage has stagnated or fallen since the late 1990’s. At the same time both
soybean and cotton yields have shown modest improvement since the mid-1980’s,
enabling overall oilseed production to rise. Soybean yields have increased 37 percent since 1984, registering an annual growth rate of 2 percent.
Cotton yields have increased 67 percent over the same period or an annual rate
of growth of 3 percent. Sunflowerseed yields on the other hand have fallen
since the early days of its introduction in Bolivia, declining by 24
percent since 1990.
Soybean
Soybeans are the largest and most important field crop in Bolivia, making up 52
percent of total area devoted to grains and oilseeds and 59 percent of total
production. It is the country’s primary commercial or industrial crop, with
about 85 percent of production being processed and exported from the country.
About 15 percent of the crop is used domestically. According to a recent report
(BL 5001 – Oilseeds Annual, FAS Peru) Bolivia
has sufficient crushing capacity to process its entire soybean crop. The
attaché also reported that
soymeal
exports totaled over 1 million tons in 2004/05 for a value of $257 million,
making it the second most import export commodity behind natural gas. Soybean
products make up an estimated 19 percent of total Bolivian exports and are by
far the largest agricultural export.
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USDA currently forecasts Bolivia's soybean area in 2005/06 at a record 950,000 hectares
and production at 2.0 million tons. According to Bolivia’s National Institute of
Statistics (NIS) nearly the entire crop is grown in the department of Santa Cruz
(99 percent), with small acreages also sown in Tarija and Chuquisaca. Soybeans
are grown year-round, though the summer crop is the most important, contributing
about 75 percent (1.5 million tons) of total production. The summer crop is
planted in November/December and harvested in March/April, while the winter crop
is sown  in June/July
and reaped in October/November. Soybean yields in Bolivia are relatively
low by South American standards, averaging 2.0 tons per hectare, some 20 percent
below the regional average in 2005/06. This is largely the result of lower
levels of input use, technology, and crop varietal development.
The expansion of soybean cultivation in Bolivia has been significant over the
past 20 years, with cultivated area growing some 885,000 hectares since 1985.
This was primarily accomplished through the clearing of native savannah and
forested lands in the department of Santa Cruz. FAO reports that soybean
initially gained interest in Santa Cruz in the 1970’s, when international
soybean prices escalated. By the 1980’s, soybean had an entrenched production
base and became Bolivia’s most important oilseed crop. According to the U.S.
Agricultural Attaché, there are about 14,000 soybean farmers in Bolivia, 70
percent of which are considered small producers, farming no more than 50
hectares.
Sunflowerseed
Sunflowerseed is a minor crop in Bolivia owing to the wider adaptability and
superior profitability of soybeans. Sunseed area and production have
fluctuated significantly over the past 15 years due to both weather influences and the
relative profitability of other crops it competes with. According to Bolivia’s NIS, 100 percent of the nation’s sunflowerseed crop is cultivated in the
department of Santa Cruz. Sunflowers are primarily grown in the winter season
as a rotation crop following soybean, corn, sorghum, or cotton. Crop area
increased substantially after the early 1990’s rising 160,000 hectares or 800
percent between 1993 and 2001. Stronger returns for winter-cropped soybeans in
2003-2003, however, led to a collapse in sunseed area. Sunflowerseed yields in
Bolivia are low in respect to both its South American neighbors and across much
of the rest of the world. Bolivia’s sunseed yields
average about 1.0 tons
per hectare, some 69 percent below the regional average in 2005/06 and about 20
percent below the world average. This is likely the result of less intense crop
management and fertilization, and lack of appropriate crop varietal
development. USDA currently forecasts sunflowerseed area in 2005/06 at 160,000
hectares and production at 170,000 tons.
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Cotton
Bolivia’s cotton sector has gone through boom and bust cycles over the past 40
years, largely owing to short-lived periods of improved international prices and
profitability. The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) in a May 2000
special feature story on the Bolivian cotton industry reported that cotton has been produced commercially in the country since the
1950’s. At that time the department of Santa Cruz was being targeted by the
government as an expansionary region, with programs supporting land reform,
colonization, and infrastructure development. Cotton was one of the early
pioneering cash crops grown in the newly developing area, and since then the
bulk of the nation’s crop has been produced there. Santa Cruz produces roughly
99 percent of Bolivia’s cotton crop, while small acreages are also sown in the
nearby department of Tarija.
USDA currently
forecasts cotton area in 2005/06 at 20,000 hectares and production at 10,451
tons (48,000 480lb bales).
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The FAO reports that a period of increasing international cotton prices in the
early 1970’s contributed to a substantial rise in Bolivian cotton plantings. As
prices and profits fell later in the decade, cotton area once again plummeted.
At the same time producers were plagued by pest and disease problems which
sapped crop yields. The FAO reports that cotton farmers in Santa Cruz typically received
highly favorable terms of credit, but that as the crops profitability suffered
many growers defaulted on their loans to the government’s Agricultural Bank of
Bolivia. This led to a credit crisis and a steep decline in plantings and a
collapse in the wider cotton industry.
The ICAC reported that the second cycle of boom years for cotton cultivation in
Bolivia began as international prices once again improved in the 1990’s, while a
strong cotton producers organization was working inside Bolivia to foster growth
in planted area. After about 5 years of steady growth, cotton area had reached
slightly over 50,000 hectares, and the industry had plans to expand to 200,000
hectares by 2002. Consecutive years of bad weather linked to El Nino in
1996-1998, however, caused area to decline. This was subsequently followed by
declining international prices, and once again the crops plummeting
profitability caused a complete reversal in plantings and output. The ICAC
reported that at its peak in 1996, there were approximately 650 farmers growing
cotton in Bolivia, all of which were small-scale producers owning on average
less than 20 hectares of land. Most of these farmers devoted less than 5
hectares to cotton on their properties in any given year. As international
prices and profitability plunged in 1999 the number of cotton farmers reportedly
dwindled to 50 by the year 2000.
Grain Production
Total area devoted to grains (corn, rice, sorghum, wheat, and barley) in 2005/06
is estimated at 684,000 hectares, unchanged from last year but 10 percent below
the record of 749,000 set in 1998. Since 1960 total grain area has
increased modestly, growing by an average of 6,000 hectares per year or a growth rate of
1.7 percent per annum. Over the same period, grain production increased by 214
percent to over 1.25 million tons. This was largely the result of gradually
improving yields in both corn and rice that occurred since 1985. Grain yields
are highly volatile, owing primarily to variable rainfall. Periodic droughts as
well as excess rainfall resulting in flooding are common. Grain consumption and
imports have also been highly variable since the early 1980’s, though they show
a steady upward trend. Bolivia primarily imports wheat or wheat flour to supply
its urban and highland populations in the western sections of the country.
Total grain consumption is currently projected at nearly 1.6 million tons, while
imports are expected to total a little over 0.4 million.
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The nation’s corn area reached its historical high in 1985, while rice, wheat
and sorghum area peaked in the late 1990’s. Barley, on the other hand
peaked back in the mid-1970’s. Crop area devoted to all the major grains
has fallen considerably since those peaks were reached, with corn declining 22
percent, rice 20 percent, wheat 41 percent, barley 22 percent, and sorghum 20
percent. Rice and corn yields, however, have shown steady improvement
since the late 1980’s, enabling grain production to rise steadily despite the loss
in sown area. Corn yields have increased about 54 percent since 1985,
registering an annual growth rate of 2.7 percent. Rice yields have increased 93
percent over the same period or an annual rate of growth of 4.7 percent.
Sorghum yields on the other hand have declined by about 33 percent, while wheat
and barley yields have remained essentially unchanged since the 1960’s.
Corn
Corn is Bolivia’s most important domestically produced food grain, accounting
for 41 percent of total grain area and 52 percent of grain production. USDA
currently forecasts corn area in 2005/06 at 280,000 hectares and production at
660,000 tons. Corn is grown throughout the country, but the bulk of production
is heavily concentrated in the lowland department of Santa Cruz. Unlike most of
the other commercial crops, corn production is also highly important to
indigenous farmers in the highlands, with 35 percent of total production
occurring in the Andes or eastern valleys. Corn yields in Bolivia are very low
by world standards, averaging about 2.3 tons per hectare, implying low rates of
fertilization and a lack of improved high-yielding varieties.
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Both white and yellow corn is grown in Bolivia, with white corn being the
traditional variety which is grown in highland areas by indigenous farmers. The
FAO reports that about half of all white corn produced is consumed locally by
Bolivia’s small farmers, while the remainder is marketed to the livestock and
poultry feed industry. USDA’s Agricultural Attaché reports that virtually all yellow corn produced in the country is planted under contract to the
nation’s poultry industry, and that the vast majority of it is produced in
tropical Santa Cruz.
Rice
Rice is Bolivia’s second most important food grain, accounting for 21 percent of
total grain area and 21 percent of grain production (milled-basis). USDA
currently forecasts rice area in 2005/06 at 145,000 hectares and milled
production at 276,000 tons.
Rice is grown in the summer season,
planted in October/November and harvested in April/May.
Rice cultivation is
heavily concentrated in the lowlands and in the valleys of the eastern slopes of
the Andes. The vast majority of production comes from the department of Santa
Cruz, which accounts for 82 percent of national output. Rough rice yields are
low by world and South American standards, averaging 2.4 tons per hectare and
implying that little to none of the crop is irrigated.
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Rice area has grown by 200 percent in Bolivia since the early 1980’s while
production increased four-fold. Still, despite this growth rice remains a minor
grain crop. Bolivia has been virtually self-sufficient in rice production since
the 1960’s, but the USDA Agricultural Attaché reported that this was primarily
the result of low per capita consumption, which amounted to 24 kilograms per
person in 2001.
Sorghum
Sorghum is a minor crop in Bolivia, accounting for 8 percent of total grain area
in the country and 12 percent of grain production. Sorghum area for 2005/06 will
be about 55,000 hectares and production at 150,000 tons. Like
many other field crops in Bolivia the vast majority of production is heavily
concentrated in the tropical eastern lowlands in the department of Santa Cruz.
In fact, less than 1 percent of the crop is grown outside of Santa Cruz.
Sorghum is cultivated in the primary summer growing season, alongside soybean,
corn, rice, and cotton crops. It is an important feedgrain in Bolivia alongside
corn, with most of the crop consumed by the poultry industry which is centered
in Santa Cruz and Cochabamba. Sorghum yields in Bolivia are relatively low by
world standards, except in comparison to much of Africa, averaging about 2.6
tons per hectare. Though the grain crop is highly drought tolerant, historical
crop yields have been extremely volatile.
Wheat
Wheat is also a minor crop in Bolivia, accounting for 17 percent of total grain
area in the country and 9 percent of grain production. USDA currently forecasts
wheat area in 2005/06 at 114,000 hectares and production at 117,000 tons.
Wheat is grown to some extent in most regions of the country, though the
majority of the crop is produced in Santa Cruz. According to the U.S.
Agricultural Attaché commercial wheat production takes place mainly in the
department of Santa Cruz, with that entire crop being milled and consumed
locally.
The FAO reports that despite repeated attempts by the government’s National
Wheat Institute to make the nation self-sufficient in wheat production, Bolivia
continues to produce only about 20 percent of its national requirements. Annual
wheat imports currently amount to about 400,000 tons per year, and make up
virtually all of the nations grain imports.
Barley
Barley is also a minor crop in Bolivia, accounting for 13 percent of total grain
area in the country and 6 percent of grain production. USDA currently forecasts
sorghum area in 2005/06 at 90,000 hectares and production at 70,000 tons.
Barley is an important cash and fodder crop for the country’s indigenous farm
population, with cultivation centered in the high altitude “altiplano” region
and in the eastern valleys. In 1988 the FAO reported there were approximately
300,000 barley farmers in Bolivia, who produce the crop on extremely small plots
of less than 1 hectare. The vast bulk of production was reportedly marketed to
the country’s beer industry, with about 10 percent of the crop being used as
feed for their livestock. Because of the small scale of production and
limited use of crop inputs, Bolivia’s barley yields are some of the lowest in
the world, averaging about 0.76 tons per hectare.
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