History

History of Extension and the Enabling Environment

During the 1930s

Before the Second World War, the agricultural extension in Bolivia was mostly confined to the renting out of farm equipment. Agricultural research was also limited to the conducting of studies on irrigation. An agricultural school was started in Santa Cruz in 1939, but it did not last beyond its third year due to financial constraints and negligible enrollment of students.

The Bohan Mission

In 1941, the United States government fielded a six-month long mission to Bolivia, headed by Merwin Bohan. Besides making recommendations on building a road from Santa Cruz to Cochabamba and improving the mineral production, the mission also recommended the transformation of indigenous agriculture through a number of measures including investment in agricultural research and extension, and revival of rural education for Bolivia’s sustained development. Although, a $26 million loan was approved by the Export-Import Bank of the United States to implement the recommendations, yet no serious steps were taken by the Bolivian government until 1947, when agricultural experimental stations in Tamborada (Cochabamba), Belen and Saavedra started functioning.

Inter-American Agricultural Service

The Revolution of 1952 caused huge land re-distribution in 1953 to break up the old pattern of most of the land controlled by a very small number of people. Programs of agricultural research and extension were initiated. Also in 1952, the governments of USA and Bolivia jointly set up a semi-autonomous institution, the Inter-American Agricultural Service (IAS), which was directed and financed by USA, and aimed at cooperation in the areas of research and extension to develop crops, pastures and livestock. Technologies imported from USA were tested and adapted to local conditions and then diffused by the extension workers among Bolivian farmers. Thanks due to IAS efforts, Bolivia enjoyed a strong extension service during the 1950s. However, around the early 1960s, when IAS ended its technical and financial support and handed over agricultural research and extension responsibilities to the Ministry of Agriculture, a rapid decline of the well-developed extension service started.

From 1960 to 1997

During the late 1960s and then in 1970s, the government shifted its financial assistance to commercial farmers of the eastern lowlands, growing sugarcane, cotton and rice, while research and extension received little attention. The farmers of the region greatly benefitted from two institutions, namely Bolivian Institute of Agricultural Technology (IBTA – Instituto Boliviano de Tecnologia Agropecuaria), and the Tropical Agriculture Research Center (CIAT – Centro de Investigación Agricola Tropical) that were established in 1975. IBTA created 15 experimental research stations. CIAT was responsible for the generation and transfer of technologies in the lowland Santa Cruz region.

The extension program operated by IBTA during the 1980s remained weak. Each agricultural agent was required to cover about 7,000 farming households. CIAT’s funding was reduced and an independent extension center, called Rural Development Center (CDR - Centro de Desarrollo Rural), was created. The CDR, however, could never become fully operational due to budgetary constraints and had to be closed in 1987.

In 1991, a US$21 million project was financed by the World Bank for strengthening IBTA’s research capacity, but negligible funds were allocated to extension. Soon thereafter, the entire extension program run by IBTA was disbanded. Plagued by mismanagement and political interference, IBTA itself deteriorated and stopped functioning in 1997.

In 1994, Bolivia enacted the Popular Participation Law (PPL – Ley de Participacion Popular) for organizational and administrative decentralization. A total of 314 municipalities were created as the basic administrative unit with a high degree of autonomy, and grassroots organizations were legalized.  

The only technology generation and extension program that remained functional in Bolivia after the closure of IBTA was the one on potatoes. Under this program, financially supported by Switzerland, an autonomous Foundation for Research and Promotion of Andean Crops (PROINPA – Fundacion Boliviana para la Investigación y Promocion de los Cultivos Andinos) was created. For the purpose of disseminating its technologies, PROINPA formed Local Agricultural Research Committees (CIALS) involving farmers to conduct on-farm and participatory evaluation trials and to organize farmers’ tours.

The Bolivian Agricultural Technology System (SIBTA – Sistema Boliviano de Tecnologia Agricola); 1999-2008

The revival of agricultural research and extension started in earnest in 1999 when a deal was reached by the Bolivian government, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and several bi-lateral donors to follow a Sector Wide Approach in the areas of research and technology diffusion that later led to the creation of Bolivian Agricultural Technology System (SIBTA). SIBTA essentially followed a demand-driven, participatory and predominantly privatized extension approach that used the Agricultural Technology for Development Fund (FDTA) mostly coming from multi-lateral and bi-lateral donors for generating technologies through collaboration between farmers’ organizations and mostly private service providers. The following actors, mechanisms and coordination committees involved in the SIBTA operations were identified in a 2007 joint publication of IFPRI and GTZ (now GIZ):    

1. Ministry of Rural and Agricultural Development and Environment (MAGDR - Ministério de Agricultura, Ganadería y Desarrollo Rural): Technology and Food Safety Unit (UTS) was responsible for extension matters.
2. Donors: Inter-American Development Bank; bi-lateral donors including Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Denmark that form FOCAS (Fondo Comun de Apoyo at SIBTA), and also USA, Germany and Japan.
3. Four (4) Regional Foundations for Agricultural Technology Development (FDTAs – Fundacion para el Desarrollo de Tecnologia Agricola): based in agro-ecological regions of the country, i.e. highlands, valleys, semi-arid lowlands (Chaco), and humid tropic lowlands, each comprising more than 100 public and private sectors, and civil society organizations; enjoying private legal status and a public mandate of promoting agricultural innovation and managing funds for SIBTA’s applied innovation projects; not responsible for the provision of research and extension services, but for setting priorities, identifying demands, channeling funds to knowledge providers and monitoring their use.
4. Beneficiaries: producer associations, community-based organizations, and indigenous groups with legal status who requested SIBTA’s services through applied innovation projects; only those farmers were eligible for receiving assistance, who were willing  to provide 15 per cent of the total funding requested, either from their own sources or through local municipalities.
5. Knowledge and service providers: research organizations such as CIAT, universities and private consultancy firms.

The three mechanisms developed by SIBTA to enable interaction among knowledge and service providers were as follows:

1. Applied Technological Innovation Projects (PITAs): regional foundations solicited bids from producer organizations who collaborated with service providers in the preparation of proposals; suitable proposals received funding, based on decisions made by an anonymous committee.
2. National Strategic Innovation Projects (PIEN): focused on areas such as soil fertility management, and value chains; funding was approved by the then Ministry of Rural and Agricultural Development and Environment.
3. Food and Genetic Resources Program (SINARGEAA): several research organizations and universities given responsibility for managing and evaluating genetic resources.

Two committees under SIBTA, created for coordination and interaction purposes were:

1. Accompanying Committee of SIBTA (CAS): comprised government and donors’ representatives; determined funding procedures and reviewed implementation of the three mechanisms.
2. Consultative Committee of SIBTA (Comite Consultivo del SIBTA): comprised representatives of the Ministry’s Technology and Food Safety Unit, the four regional foundations, and universities.

2008 to present

In 2008, the SIBTA system was terminated, and a new public institution named National Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Innovation (INIAF – Instituto Nacional de Innovación Agropecuaria y Forestal) was established. The purpose of establishing INIAF was to strengthen public institutions and enhancing productivity in agriculture, livestock breeding and forestry.  Presently, extension services are public and decentralized, and are provided free of charge by a number of pubic and non-public actors and civil society organizations including Departmental Agricultural and Livestock Service (SEDAG – Sevicio Departamental de Agricultura y Ganadería), national and international NGOs, universities, INIAF, regional foundations, and projects. Extension methodologies used in Bolivia are all participatory, and include farmer-to-farmer knowledge and experience exchange in support of technology generation, local research committees, and farmer field schools. Audio-visual materials include printed material, bulletins, pamphlets and ICT.

Although the United States development assistance program to Bolivia has been recently closed (2013), the USA has a long history of having provided enormous technical and financial assistance to Bolivia since 1942 in several technical fields including agricultural research and extension. In addition to some of the foreign assistance, mentioned earlier, the following donor-financed projects are worth mentioning because many of them contributed towards strengthening extension services in Bolivia. Some of these projects have been completed, while some are still active.

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD): Chuquisaca North Agricultural Development Project; Economic Inclusion Program for Families and Rural Communities (ACCESOS); Natural Resources Project; Cotagaita San Juan Del Oro Agricultural Development Project (PCSJO);  and Camelid Producers Development Project in the Andean High Plateau.  

The World Bank: Innovation and Agricultural Services Project; Rural Alliance Project; BO PICAR Community Investment in Rural Areas; Second Participatory Rural Investment; and Bolivia Land for Agricultural Development Project.

Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC): Promotion of Micro-insurance for Agricultural Production (PROSEDER); Support to the Bolivian Agricultural Innovation System.

UNESCO: Managing Sustainability of New Quinoa Production Systems through Farming Systems Management and Market Insertion.

The European Union: Project on fight against drugs.

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB): Banco Ganadero Financing Partnership; and Direct Support for the Creation of Rural Agri-food Initiatives.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): Communication for Development Project; Integrating the Right to Adequate Food and Good Governance in National Policies, Legislation and Institutions; and planned project for establishing an international quinoa center in Bolivia.

Extension Providers

Ministry of Land and Rural Development (Ministerio de Desarrollo Rural y Tierras)

The Ministry of Land and Rural Development is responsible, among other functions, for national innovation system covering research, technology transfer and extension. This responsibility is carried out by its National Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Innovation (INIAF). The Ministry has also been developing a new public system for basic and applied research, technology transfer, and broader free technical assistance through INIAF and the National Service of Agricultural Health and Food Safety (SENASAG – Servicio Nacional de Sanidad Agropecuaria e Inocuidad Alimentaria).

National Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Innovation (INIAF – Instituto Nacional de Innovación Agropecuaria y Forestal) 
INIAF was created in 2008 and it is a public, decentralized, autonomous institution. Unlike SIBTA that mainly focused on high potential producers and high-end actors in the value chain, INIAF’s target beneficiaries are small and medium scale producers and subsistence, and marginal farmers who are provided free of charge extension services. INIAF’s mission is technology generation, implementation of public policies on agricultural and forestry innovation in order to contribute to food security and sovereignty within the context of knowledge, social participation, and management of genetic resources and national agro-biodiversity heritage. Training and educational activities of INIAF aim at promoting participatory technology and knowledge exchange along three lines, namely eco-region, product, and thematic area. 

INIAF’s national level organizational structure includes separate directorates of research and technical assistance. Its departmental (state) level structure includes technical departments for research, seeds and technical assistance. In 2012, INIAF had 13 regional offices with a total of 163 staff that included managers, technicians, field workers and assistants.

Regional Foundations for Agricultural Technology Development (FDTAs – Fundacion para el Desarrollo de Tecnologia Agricola)
As mentioned in the previous section, four FDTAs, comprising public, private, and civil society organizations, were created around 1999 under the SIBTA system in various agro-ecological regions of Bolivia The foundations managed and channeled funds to mainly non-public knowledge and service providers on the basis of Applied Technological Innovation Projects (PITAs). Three of those foundations were still functioning in 2009, but their latest status is not known.

Department-level extension provision
As mentioned in the context section, Bolivia is administratively divided into nine departments. Each of the departments provides extension services in the form of regional and local projects. These projects are implemented through the Departmental Agricultural and Livestock Service (SEDAG – Servicio Departmental de Agricultura y Ganadería). The Tropical Agriculture Research Center (CIAT – Centro de Investigación Agricola Tropical), established in 1975, provides extension services in municipalities. Both SEDAG and CIAT jointly operate an extension program, called Technical Assistance for Small Agricultural Producers (ATPP), in Santa Cruz Department.

Universities
Bolivia has a considerable number of public and private universities, but only a few of them are involved in agricultural extension services. The Universidad Mayor de San Simon, one of the largest public universities in the country, established in 1832, and located in La Paz, supports eight extension related programs in Cochabamba. The university has a faculty of agronomy. The university also has AGRUCO, a center of excellence in participatory research, post-graduate training, and social interaction with indigenous communities and farmers. AGRUCO was established in 1985 as a part of bi-lateral cooperation agreement between the governments of Bolivia and Switzerland.

Other universities that offer relevant academic programs are Universidad Gabriel Rene Moreno, located at Santa Cruz de la Sierra (has faculty of veterinary medicine); Universidad Jose Ballivian, located in Trinidad (has faculty of livestock science); and Universidad Tecnica del Beni “Mariscal Jose Ballivian, located in Beni (has faculty of agriculture). No information is available on their involvement in field extension services.

Non-Public Institutions

Private sector

Although several non-public organizations have been involved at various times in delivering extension services to the farmers, yet no major commercial company was active in this particular activity. Contract farming for quinoa, sugar, rice and soy crops has been common in Bolivia where commercial firms and producer associations (such as ANAPQUI, CECAOT, APQUISA) holding thousands of hectares of land and several processing facilities are involved. Brazilians have been particularly active in growing soybean on Bolivian soil, and at times transferring cultivation technologies to the Bolivian producers.

The relationship between the Bolivian government and the private sector has been said to be tense in general, but especially in the country’s oriental region, which is thriving in agribusiness. However, there are examples of successful public-private partnership in agricultural innovation such as that between SIBTA and the Association of Oilseed and Wheat Producers (ANAPO). The partnership, according to an IFPRI study done in 2008, led to a reduction in production cost by 30 per cent, a 40 per cent increase in yields, the strengthening of the farmer organization, and the transfer and introduction of new technology.

• Ecotop SRL: based in La Paz; a private consultancy firm that offers training, consultancy and extension services for sustainable agricultural development in tropical and sub-tropical regions with focus on agroforestry systems. 
• Technological Center for Agriculture and Livestock (CETABOL): located in Santa Cruz, and managed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); established in 1985 primarily to serve Japanese descent (Nikkei) farmers in Okinawa Colony and San Juan Colony, but now assists all Bolivian communities; and undertakes its research, extension and training activities.

Non-governmental organizations

In 1990, an FAO report showed 385 NGOs in Bolivia, including 154 located in the countryside. A number of national and international NGOs in Bolivia have been engaged since long in direct or indirect provision of extension services to the farmers mainly when operating rural and agricultural development projects. Information on specific contribution of each NGO is not readily available. A list of NGOs working in Bolivia may be seen in the “Directory of NGOs that Work in Bolivia”, published by JICA. Examples of some NGOs active in the country are given below:

• Salesian Missions
  provides agricultural education; has opened a new Muyurina Agricultural School and a Multi-use Center, which run extension and community outreach programs including training.
• EnDev
  provides energy access to households, social institutions and small and medium-sized enterprises through establishing economically sustainable energy solutions and distribution schemes mainly for rural communities.
• Project Concern International
  running Programa de Alimentación Escolar (PAE) in partnership with local municipalities.
• Heifer International
  operates several projects for small-scale farmers and indigenous rural communities such as on developing food systems, agriculture, cooperative learning farm and services, improving production, processing and marketing, etc.
• Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD)
  runs activities aimed at empowerment of Bolivian rural women.
• NGO Chakana
  has several projects in Bolivia such as on irrigation in Timusi, Chuma, and Achocalla, agricultural education in Achocalla, and greenhouses in Chuma and Ayata.
• SNV
  has offices in La Paz and Santa Cruz; undertakes activities in improving rural livelihoods, sustainable forestry, and sanitation.
• Program for Integrated Agricultural Development (PIAD)
  has offices in Cochabamba, Pizorga, and Miska Mayo; has been working for 26 years in areas such as rural community development, improving livelihoods of small agricultural producers, technical assistance, and micro-credit.
• Centro de Investigación y Promocion del Campesinado (CIPCA – Center for Peasant Research and Promotion)
  has offices in La Paz, Trinidad (Beni), Cochabamba, Camiri (Santa Cruz), Riberalta (Beni), Cobija (Pando) and Santa Cruz.
• Strategies for International Development (SID)
  has been working in Bolivia since 1994; has implemented dairy and wool projects with good results.

NGOs providing rural agricultural extension services in Bolivia are, in general, associated with the following agricultural networks:

1. Association of Promotion and Education Institutions (AIPE).
2. National Union of Labor Institutions for Social Action (UNITAS).
3. Peru-Bolivia Secretariat (SECRUR – Secretariado Rural Peru Bolivia).

Farmers-based associations, cooperatives and societies

Like NGOs, many farmers-based associations and cooperatives in Bolivia have participated in both receiving and providing extension services although information on the extent of their individual involvement is not readily available. There is ample evidence though about so many farmers-based organizations, which have been struggling for years to sell their produce at high prices in national and overseas markets, and secure other benefits for their members. A few examples of farmers’ cooperatives and associations are as follows:

• Central de Cooperativas de Campesinos Agricolas Operacion Tierra (CECOAT)
  based in Nor Lipez; is well known for its unabated efforts since the 1970s for “debittering” the outer skin of quinoa grain containing saponins to make quinoa palatable; present membership comprises 500 quinoa smallholder farmers, who now run successful business.
• Association of Organic Producers Organizations of Bolivia (AOPEB)
  based in La Paz; represents the organic movement in the country through lobbying, policy dialogue, and dissemination of know-how for organic production, certification and market access.
• El Ceibo Ltd.
  based in El Alto; a commercial umbrella organization for cocoa growers’ cooperatives; main activities are processing and trading of cocoa for national and international markets.
• Agroforestry Farmers’ Association of the Amazon Region of Bolivia (APARAB)
  located in Guayaramerin, a town at the Brazilian border in the Amazon region; supported by Oxfam, the association has 300 member families and manages a plant for cocoa processing and one for drying fruit.
• National Association of Quinoa Producers (ANAPQUI)
  membership comprises 1,260 organic quinoa growers including 284 women and 976 men from 157 communities in seven provinces and five municipalities; partners cultivate on 35,000 hectares and raise 72,000 head of cattle, camelid (llama); and exports quinoa to overseas markets.
• Asocafe Farmers’ Cooperative
  comprises coffee grower farmers who export coffee to USA.
• Federación de Caficultores Exportadores de Bolivia (FECAFEB – Federation of Exporting Coffee Producers)
  founded in 1991; services offered to member cooperatives include commercialization, technical assistance, training, and financial aid; and comprises 35 farmers’ cooperatives, representing over 20,000 farming families.
• Productores de Maiz y Sorgo (PROMASOR – Corn and Sorghum Producers’ Association).
• Asociación Nacional de Productores de Soya (ANAPO – National Association of Soybean Producers).
• Asociación Integral de Productores de Pumiri (AIPEP)
  a coffee growers’ cooperative; represents about 60 farm families; has established impressive internal systems for organic production and quality control.
• Integrated Association for Camelid Producers (AIPC).
• Punata Dairy Farming Association.
• Yungas de La Paz Association of Coca Producers (ADEPCOCA).

List of Extension Providers

 The following list shows an excerpt from the GFRAS Directory of Extension Providers for Bolivia. Some of these entries may be specially marked for having more detailed information in the database of the Worldwide Extension Study WWES.

Training

Training Options for Extension Professionals

For pre-service education/training, any of the universities having faculties of agronomy, agriculture, forestry, veterinary medicine and livestock science may be contacted. Main universities have been mentioned earlier under the universities sub-section.

For in-service training, extension professionals may consider the following options:

• Universities, as mentioned above.
• Departmental Agricultural and Livestock Service (SEDAG – Servicio Departmental de Agricultura y Ganadería).
• National Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Innovation (INIAF – Instituto Nacional de Innovación Agropecuaria y Forestal).
• National Service of Agricultural Health and Food Safety (SENASAG – Servicio Nacional de Sanidad Agropecuaria e Inocuidad Alimentaria).
• Salesian Missions’s Muyurina Agricultural School and Multi-use Center.
• Ecotop SRL, a private consultancy firm based in La Paz.
• Technological Center for Agriculture and Livestock in Bolivia (CETABOL); located in Santa Cruz, operated by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
• Projects on rural and agricultural development funded by the government and/or external donors, which have training and capacity building components.

ICT

Info-mediaries and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Agriculture and Extension

In 2002, the Bolivian government announced an ICT strategy with the following objective: “To coordinate and promote the introduction, access, uses and application of ICT in order to improve rural development in a more sustainable and participative way, with particular attention to impoverished sectors”. Later, a five-year project was initiated in 2002 by the Ministry of Rural Development and Environment to operationalize the ICT strategy with the assistance of the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD).  The focus of the strategy is on small-scale farmers and indigenous groups.

Another five-year project on ICT for exchange of farmer experiences in ecological agriculture of Bolivia was initiated in 2003 by the Fundacion AGRECOL Andes. The emphasis of the project was on capacity building in farmer-to-farmer exchanges of production techniques using video, audio and PowerPoint applications with strong methodological approach, and covered farmers’ groups in 30 communities. The second phase of the AGRECOL project has been concluded with the production of a video in the form of an amateur play performed by farmers themselves showing how farmers get acquainted with ICT.

A monitoring and evaluation report of the National ICT Program of Bolivia as of 2006 contains details of 15 ICT for development projects contributing to the Bolivian Poverty Alleviation Program. The report may be seen at this link: http://www.iicd.org/projects/projects/countries/bolivia (agriculture.org/sites/default/files/uploads/media/2006 Learning Report Bolivia NTIC.pdf).

In 2010, ICT incorporation in Bolivia’s sectors included 96 primary and secondary schools, 40 information access centers in agriculture and 14 centers in governance. The IICD has been supporting the national ICT4D network TiCBolivia, and about 25 partners including grassroots organizations, NGOs, government and academic institutions have consolidated exchange of experiences and lobbying and policy participation in the network.

In December, 2012, an international seminar, “Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Agriculture” was held in La Paz. The event was organized by ECLAC@LIS2, a project funded by the European Union, the Bolivian Ministry of Land and Rural Development and the TiCBolivia network.  According to the World Bank, in 2012, the number of mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) in Bolivia was 92.63. During the same year, the number of Internet users (per 100 people) in the country was 34.18.

Resources

Resources and References

Bebbington, A. and J. Farrington (no date). Private Voluntary Initiatives: Enhancing the Public Sector’s Capacity to Respond to Non-governmental Organization Needs. Overseas Development Institute.

Bojanic, A.J. (November 2001). Extension, Poverty and Vulnerability in Bolivia and Colombia; Country Studies for the Neuchatel Initiative. London: Overseas Development Institute.

Calzada, J. and A. Davalos (2005). Cooperatives in Bolivia: Customer ownership of the local loop. Telecommunications Policy, 29 (2005), 387-407.

CBS News (February 21, 2013). Worldwide quinoa “fever” stressing Bolivian farmers.

Erickson, C.L. (no date; probably 2000). Agricultural Landscapes as World Heritage: Raised Field Agriculture in Bolivia and Peru; available at https://www.sas.upenn.edu/anthro/system/files/EricksonGetty1.pdf .

Godoy, R., M. de Franco, and R.G. Echeverria (July 1993). A Brief History of Agricultural Research in Bolivia: Potatoes, Maize, Soybeans, and Wheat Compared. Development Discussion Paper No. 460. Harvard Institute for International Development, Harvard University.

Hartwich, F., A. Alexaki, and R. Baptista (December 2007). Innovation Systems Governance in Bolivia: Lessons for Agricultural Innovation Policies. IFPRI Discussion Paper 00732. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Hartwich, F. and H.G. Jansen (2007). The Role of Government in Agricultural Innovation: Lessons from Bolivia. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Hartwich, F., M.M. Perez, L.A. Ramos, and J.L. Soto (2007). Knowledge management for agricultural innovation: lessons from networking efforts in the Bolivian Agricultural Technology System. Knowledge Management for Development Journal, 3 (2): 21-37.

Jansen, H.G. (2006). The Bolivian System for Agricultural Technology (SIBTA). Rural Development News, 1/2006.

Kim, J.Y. (2013). How Farmers Made the World Crave Quinoa. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Maxkey, L. 2011. Legitimizing Foreignization in Bolivia: Brazilian Agriculture and the Relations of Conflict and Consent in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Paper presented at the International Conference on Global Land Grabbing, 6-8 April 2011. Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex.

Schutt, J.M.C.2012. Contract Farming in Bolivia: An Overview of Law and Practice. UNIDROIT Working Group for the Preparation of a Legal Guide on Contract Farming.

Ulloa, G. 2010. Bolivia Case Study; Innovation Support Services for Climate Change Adaptation. Annex 4 in: C. Leeuwis and A. Hall (October 2010). Facing the Challenges of Climate Change and Food Security: The Role of Research, Extension and Communication Institutions. Final Report prepared for the Research and Extension Branch of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Vera, R.R. (no date; probably 2007). Country Pasture/Forage Resource Profiles: Bolivia. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Wiggins, S. 2008. Institutions and Agricultural Growth in Bolivia and New Zealand. Discussion Paper Series Number 21. IPPG Research Program Consortium on Improving Institutions for Pro-Poor Growth; DFID (Department for International Development).