These changes tell a story beyond geographical zones: They also tell the story of agricultural structures in Bolivia.
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| Agriculture in the mountains of Cochabamba |
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The Chapare, source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/doloresreina/5446352716/sizes/m/in/photostream/
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| Agriculture in Santa Cruz |
As the first picture shows, the mountainous region of Cochabamba is characterised by traditional small-scale agriculture. As we advance towards the Chapare, the vegetation changes drastically into a dense tropical forest. This is an area of small- and medium-scale agriculture that advances bit by bit into the forest. Further East, the landscape changes again. As we cross to the region of Santa Cruz, we find the same hot and humid climate, but large areas of forest have been cut down to make space for agricultural production. Santa Cruz is the region of large-scale agriculture, mainly destined towards exportation.
These regional differences exemplify the three distinctive forms of agricultural production in Bolivia: Small landholdings in areas of traditional agriculture, cultivations introduced in scarcely populated areas such as the tropical forests of the Chapare through planned migration (“colonisation / colonización”), and large-scale capitalist agricultural production in the Eastern lowlands (Ballivián, 2009).
These agricultural structures were decisively shaped by the Agricultural Reform in 1952 (Ballivián, 2009). At this time, the “most profound social revolution that Bolivia has seen” (ibid: 53) took place, orienting the productive sector towards a state-led capitalism (ibid.). Mines were nationalised and an agricultural reform was introduced in order to break with the feudal structures in the agricultural sector (ibid.). The agricultural reform meant basically that the campesinos who formerly produced for their landlord were to become owners of their land (ibid.).
This reform was implemented most successfully in the Western part of the country, where the campesino movement pushing for reforms was strongest (ibid.). Up to today, small landholdings dominate in the highlands and valleys (ibid.). In the Eastern lowlands, however, something else happened: The huge landholdings in this area became the property of the landlords, denominated as “agricultural companies”, in exchange for the promise to modernise these landholdings rapidly (ibid.). For Balliviàn (2009), this contradiction was driven by the state´s interest in fostering economic development, which was an important element of the agricultural reform that should “liberate productive forces” (Canelas, in Ballivian 2009).
The agricultural reform was complemented by government support for migration from the highlands to less populated areas in the East (ibid.). This was thought to contribute to an expansion of the agricultural frontier and also to a protection of Bolivian territory by populating the Eastern borderland (ibid.). The Chapare is one of these areas of “colonisation” attracting migrants from the rural highlands. This tendency of migration from the highlands is indeed going on until the present day.
Despite favourable climatic conditions, the dense native vegetation of the Chapare is not easily converted into agricultural land (ibid.). Since the rural migrants usually lack the technological means needed to advance large-scale deforestation, they stick to the cultivation of smaller areas, abandoning them as soil fertility decreases to deforest a new patch of land (ibid.). One solution to decrease the effort needed for agricultural production is to plant perennial crops such as cocoa or palm trees – or coca plantations, which is currently the main commercial cultivation in the Chapare (ibid.). Apart from being a perennial plantation, the coca leaf reaches much higher prices than other products, an effect that is amplified tremendously by the importance of the coca leaf as a raw material for cocaine production.
Just a bit more eastwards, the region of Santa Cruz is characterised by the large-scale production of rice, cotton, sugar cane and other products mainly destined for exportation (ibid.). Industrial agricultural production does not contribute significantly to satisfying internal food demand: The majority of agricultural production for the internal market (about 70 %) is provided by small-scale farming (ibid.).
This structure leads to serious concerns about Bolivian food sovereignty, particularly given gradual changes in traditional agricultural areas: Traditional systems of communal ownership are being abandoned in favour of individual land ownership, leading to ruptures with an established system of long-term planning of land use and crop rotation in the community (ibid.). New, more intensive forms of agricultural production are however limited by the harsh environmental conditions in the areas of traditional agriculture, leading to a deterioration of agricultural land and increased migration to urban areas or zones of colonisation (ibid., CEDLA 2009). Combined with gradual changes in consumption habits, for instance preferences for industrially produced (imported) food (CEDLA 2009), the development of the Bolivian food system does not seem promising for generating food sovereignty.
SOURCES:
Ballivian, D. P. (2009). Estructura agraria boliviana (Bolivian agricultural structure). Plural editores: La Paz
CEDLA (2009). Soberanía y seguridad alimentaria en Bolivia. Políticas y estado de la situación. (Food sovereignty and security in Bolivia. Politics and actual situation.) CEDLA: La Paz
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