STRATEGIES FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Ending Rural Poverty in Bolivia

How do poor farmers increase their incomes?

An Example from Bolivia’s Altiplano

Dairy and Beef in the Northern AltiplanoAlpaca and Llama in the Southern Altiplano

• Low productivity

• Eroded soils and pastures

Farmers on Bolivia’s Altiplano are poor because they have:

In SID’s first project in Bolivia, 1,630 dairy farmers:

• Increased income by 64% ($904 to $1,452)• Increased milk productivity from 5.6 to 11.3 quarts• Reclaimed 3,935 acres by digging water infiltration

ditches, damming gullies, and re-seeding pastures• Reclaimed 173 acres of hillside land by terracing• Reclaimed 35,338 acres by putting pastures into

reserve• Sowed 3,836 acres of alfalfa (2.4 acres / family)

RECLAIM SOILS & PASTURES

INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY OF

DAIRY CATTLE

IMPROVE BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Dig water retention ditches

Dam gullies Terrace hillside land Re-seed pastures Create pasture

reserves Sow alfalfa

Improve animal selection

Vaccinate cows Dose cattle for

internal parasites Dig farm ponds Cut and store fodder Construct stables,

shelter cows at night

Assess markets Meet, negotiate with

major buyers Make business plans Switch to higher

value products (cheese, yogurt) when possible

What farmers have to do to get out of poverty…

Digging ditches

Digging ditches

Damming gullies

Terracing

Re-seeding Pastures

Reserving Pastures

Reserving Pastures

Sowing alfalfa

Selecting and Treating Cattle

Digging farm ponds

Storing fodder

Constructing stables

Improving Business Management

61% Increase in Dairy IncomesSID Participants 1997 - 2001

$2,032

$1,452

$1,206$1,034

$904

$0

$500

$1,000

$1,500

$2,000

$2,500

1997 1998 1999 2001 2007 (Est.)

Bolivia: Pilot Wool Project -- Llamas

Pilot Wool Project – Requests, Results

• Reclaiming eroded pastures and bofedales• Changing to more white-wooled animals• Increasing the productivity of their animals• Developing better links with markets

1,600 alpaca and llama farmers have requested SID’s assistance in

The Plains of Sajama

Bofedal

Mount Sajama, the Main Road to Chile

Bolivia’s Llamas -- The First Project Beneficiaries

How You Can Help

• In 2008, we would like to start a Bolivian wool project to benefit 750 families

Cost: $70,000 ($93 / family)

Raised: $15,000

Needed: $55,000

• Help us begin the Bolivian wool program for 750 families ($55,000 needed)

“They [Competitions] are a good incentive to…motivate us. Someone makes progress and we want to make even more progress.” Sandalia Flores (Bolivia)

“I have won alfalfa seeds and have planted 3 additional hectares. Without competitions it would have taken me a lot of time to be able to do this, or maybe I would never have been able to do it.” Edmundo Flores (Bolivia)

“We need more people to help us… When we don't have seeds, we just plant whatever type of onion and alfalfa seed we have and the result is bad. We want to start from the ground up, so that's why we need help.”

“Most everything I do I learned from SID's projects…Thanks to SID, I was able to grow more alfalfa because I had better seed. I was also able to repair this land here.”

Mauricio Copa Lima (Bolivia)