Organic Quinoa Production in Bolivia

In contrast to conventional agriculture, which is characterized by mechanization, monocultures and the application of chemical fertilizer and pesticides, organic agriculture follows a more sustainable and ecological approach. Organic agriculture is production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. Due to raising concern about conventional production systems which have an effect on human, livestock and environmental health, the number of regions who are growing organic products has increased significantly since 2002. Also, the bolivian quinoa farmers are affected by the growing demand of organic quinoa, which will be discussing in the following post.

Since the opening of the international Quinoa market, also the demand for organic Quinoa has become significant. In 1996 to 1997, producer organizations of Quinoa in Bolivia started with organic production by making use of the natural developmental conditions on the hill side. The approach of the establishment of a more organic production was due to the market requirements for biological products and the expected prices which encouraged farmers to produce organically on the plain of Southern Altiplano. However, besides the effort to increase biological production, only 8 percent of the total cultivated surface area in the region in under the production of organic Quinoa, where still 90 percent of the total Quinoa production is coming from conventional farms. Conventional Quinoa production means that chemical pesticides and fertilizers are used and that this production system also makes intensive use of agricultural machinery in preparing the soil and therefore is the affecting the already fragile ecosystem. Important to mention here is that, as the demand for quinoa has grown, production system shifted from traditional production to more conventional high input production system. (Wilfredo Rojas, 2004 )

 Traditional quinoa production was mainly focused on little soil preparation and only used residual fertilizer from preceding crops, where the widespread conventional system pays little attention to more ecological and sustainable management systems. (FAO, n.d )

As the attention towards health, environmental and social responsibilities has increased, the organic sector is rapidly growing, giving Bolivia the opportunity to sell more of its organically produced products, for example to the EU, where the demand of quinoa is directly driven by the organic sector. (CBI, 2015) Bolivia is hoping to increase organic export but at the same time encourages to increase the Quinoa consumption directly in Bolivia, where the high prices don´t allow citizens to make use of their traditional food source. Also the Bolivian government has took effort to increase the organic production through certifications schemes which is recognized by the EU and USAID, which will allow Bolivia to export organic products to the EU and the USA.  Participants get directly technical assistance through which they are able to improve the quality of their production. The production of organic Quinoa means that farmers directly receive more sustainable prices and the consumers have more reasons to buy from certified fair trade quinoa exporters. (Romer, 2015)

In conclusion it can be said that Bolivia should continue seeking for long- term sustainable production, by using an agronomic approach that doesn´t damage the ecosystem. An important step would be to bring back certain traditional management systems which are more in harmony with nature or by adding manure, green fertilizer, minimum tillage and biological pest control. As the demand for organic Quinoa continues to grow, especially in developed countries, Bolivia has great opportunities to penetrate its position in this market and increase their organic production, which will benefit the environment, the farmers and the consumer directly in Bolivia and in other counties.

References

CBI. (December 2015). CBI Product Factsheet: Quinoa in Europe . Date accessed: January 2017 from Interpretation and opportunities : https://www.cbi.eu/sites/default/files/market_information/researches/product-factsheet-europe-quinoa-grains-pulses-2015.pdf

FAO. (n.d ). Cultivation Practices . Date accessed:  January 2017 from Quinoa (Chenopodium quince): http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0646e/t0646e0f.htm

Romer, N. (23. December 2015). Do you know where your Quinoa comes from? . Date accessed:  December 2016 from NACLA : http://nacla.org/news/2015/12/23/do-you-know-where-your-quinoa-comes

Wilfredo Rojas, J. L. (2004 ). Organic Production . Date accessed: December 2016 from Study on the social, environmental and economic impacts of Quinoa promotion in Bolivia : http://www.underutilized-species.org/Documents/PUBLICATIONS/quinoa_case_study_en.pdf