Bolivian Grains: Exploring The Country's Agricultural Bounty

Bolivia is a landlocked country in South America with a varied climate, from tropical humidity in the east to snowfalls in the west. The country has high biodiversity and is rich in natural resources, including minerals, natural gas, and forests. Bolivia's agricultural sector is of great importance to the country, but factors such as persistent soil erosion, low soil productivity, poor infrastructure, and low productive cultural practices have hindered its development. Bolivia's grains include quinoa, corn, wheat, barley, and rice.

Quinoa: the mother grain of the Incas

Quinoa, the "mother grain" of the Incas, is a grain-like pseudocereal that has been a key food in the Andean diet since 3000 BC. Quinoa has been grown in Bolivia for centuries and was cultivated by small farmers in the highland regions of the country. Quinoa is the only food crop in the highlands that experienced sustained growth during the 1970s and 1980s.

The grain has a high nutritional content and is rich in protein and fibre, making it a popular health food in industrialised countries. Quinoa has been of particular interest to NASA, which has provided the grain to astronauts as a life-sustaining food. Quinoa's ability to grow in adverse conditions, such as low temperatures and limited water supply, has also contributed to its popularity.

In recent years, the demand for quinoa has soared, and with it, its price. This has led to a decrease in local consumption, with the grain becoming a luxury even for rich people in Bolivia. Despite this, the quinoa industry is booming, and the Bolivian government is introducing schemes to increase local consumption, including a law to ensure all schoolchildren eat quinoa as part of their breakfast diet.

The optimisation of the climate in the Southern Altiplano of Bolivia, along with the experience of its quinoa growers, places the country at the forefront of quinoa production worldwide.

Potatoes: the basic staple of highland Indians

Potatoes have been a staple food in Bolivia since pre-Inca times, and they continue to be a crucial part of the country's cuisine and culture. Here is an overview of the role of potatoes in the diets of highland Indians in Bolivia:

Historical Context

Highlanders initially cultivated potatoes in South Uist in 1743 under duress. Despite their reluctance to embrace this new crop, they soon recognised its benefits. By the late 1800s, potatoes constituted 80% of the Highland diet. Potatoes thrived in the challenging Highland soil and climate and were well-nourished by the kelp seaweed that Highlanders used as fertiliser. Additionally, potatoes required less tending than other crops, freeing up time for Highlanders to pursue other activities.

Nutritional Value

Potatoes are a rich source of calories and vitamin C, contributing to the booming Highland population after 1750. The crop's nutritional value and adaptability to the local conditions made it a fundamental part of Highland life.

Cultural Significance

The rituals of springtime planting and autumnal lifting/storing of potatoes are deeply ingrained in Highland culture, with older members of Highland communities fondly recalling these traditions.

Economic Impact

The potato crop played a significant role in the Highland economy, with a production of 1.1 million tons of potatoes in Bolivia in 2018. However, yields have been declining due to various factors, including a lack of new seed varieties, chemical fertilisers, and irrigation systems.

Challenges and Adaptations

The blight that reached the Highlands in 1846, decimating the potato crop, caused great distress. This event led to a wave of emigration, with tens of thousands of Highland men and women seeking new opportunities in Canada and Australia. Despite this challenging period, the resilience of the Highland communities endured, and they adapted to the changing circumstances.

Corn: the second major food crop

Corn, or maize, is the second most important food crop in Bolivia, and its importance is growing. In the late 1980s, corn covered more hectares than any other crop in the country.

There are two main varieties of corn grown in Bolivia: white corn, which is the traditional corn of the country, and yellow Cuban corn, which is grown in the tropical areas of Santa Cruz. In the late 1980s, approximately 300,000 hectares of land produced more than 475,000 tons of white corn. Meanwhile, 160,000 hectares of land produced 350,000 tons of yellow corn in 1988.

Sixty percent of the corn, including both white and yellow varieties, was grown by small farmers in the valleys, with the remaining 40% planted by medium-large farmers in Santa Cruz. Small farmers used at least half of their corn for human consumption, animal feed, or for brewing chicha, the primary alcoholic beverage consumed by Bolivian Indians. The other half of their production, and most of the commercially farmed corn, was sold to Bolivia's forty private animal feed plants, which bought 50% of the country's annual corn output.

Many corn farmers in Bolivia are members of the Corn and Sorghum Producers Association (Productores de Maíz y Sorgo Promasor). Promasor is particularly active in Santa Cruz, where its members also produced 20,000 tons of sorghum per year from some 6,000 hectares of land.

Rice: an increasingly popular crop

Rice has become an increasingly popular crop in Bolivia. Eaten by people in the lowlands and valleys since the 1950s, rice became the focus of government import-substitution policies in the 1960s. In the late 1980s, the country was generally self-sufficient in rice production, although it did have to import one-fifth of its total consumption of rice in 1988. Some years, Bolivia even exported rice.

In 1988, some 90,000 hectares of land, mostly in the Santa Cruz and Beni departments, produced 140,000 tons of rice. Approximately 20,000 small farmers produced the bulk of the country's paddy rice and, in turn, sold it via truckers to thirty private rice mills.

However, Bolivia's rice was not of high quality by international standards, thus limiting export markets. The country's rice production was also hindered by a lack of infrastructure and technology, which made farmers vulnerable to almost yearly droughts and floods.

In addition, rice farmers increasingly had to compete with contraband imports in a wide range of agricultural products. Despite these challenges, rice remains an increasingly popular crop in Bolivia due to its focus on import substitution and its ability to meet domestic demand.

Wheat: the National Wheat Institute aims for self-sufficiency

Wheat is a grain grown in Bolivia, though it is not one of the country's most important crops. Bolivia's most important food crops include potatoes, corn, barley, quinoa, habas, alfalfa, and oca.

The National Wheat Institute (Instituto Nacional del Trigo) has repeatedly attempted to make the nation self-sufficient in wheat production. However, in the late 1980s, Bolivia produced only about 20% of the wheat it consumed. In 1988, about 88,000 hectares of land produced 60,000 tons of wheat, while 280,000 tons were imported. The United States Agency for International Development (AID) provided 180,000 tons of wheat through its Food for Peace Program, while Western Europe and Canada operated similar programs on a smaller scale. Argentina provided wheat in exchange for Bolivian natural gas.

Smuggled wheat flour from Peru and Argentina posed a serious threat to domestic wheat production. Analysts estimated that 60,000 tons of smuggled wheat entered Bolivia annually in 1988. Most of the country's wheat harvest was provided by small traditional farmers in the highlands and large soybean farmers in Santa Cruz. Only wheat from the Santa Cruz area was used for commercial milling.

Analysts believed that wheat production could be improved by using proper tropical seeds, fertilizer, and irrigation methods. With the right resources and techniques, wheat yields in Bolivia could potentially increase.

Frequently asked questions