09/04/2025
Bolivia faces a striking food paradox: rich in agricultural diversity, yet heavily reliant on imports to feed much of its population. Amid climate change, dependence on global markets, and persistent rural inequalities, ensuring access to healthy, local, and sustainable food for every community remains a major challenge.
In the face of this urgency, agroecology offers a credible, adapted, and hopeful solution. By combining ancestral knowledge, scientific innovation, and respect for ecosystems, it enables not only alternative forms of production but also the rebuilding of resilient agricultural economies.
The Simón I. Patiño Foundation is part of this movement, with flagship projects such as the Hacienda Pairumani and Hacienda Patiño, which demonstrate every day the positive impact of agroecology on food security, producer autonomy, and biodiversity preservation.
For several decades, Bolivia has relied heavily on food imports, especially for staple goods like wheat, rice, and oils. This dependency weakens the entire food system by exposing it to global market fluctuations, logistical disruptions, and climate-related shocks.
At the same time, the country faces stark inequalities between rural and urban areas. Many small-scale farmers live in precarious conditions, with limited access to training, credit, or markets. They suffer the effects of climate change (droughts, floods, soil degradation) without always having the tools to adapt.
Aware of these challenges, Bolivia enshrined the right to food sovereignty in its Constitution in 2009. Inspired by peasant movements like La Vía Campesina, this policy aims to guarantee each people the right to produce, consume, and choose its own agricultural model.
Yet on the ground, this right remains largely unrealized. Agribusiness dominates, and support programs for family farming struggle to take root sustainably. In this context, agroecology—championed by committed actors like the Patiño Foundation—offers a credible path to restoring food autonomy, resilience, and social justice.
Agroecology is more than an alternative farming method. It is a holistic approach that integrates environmental, economic, and social dimensions of agriculture. It values peasant knowledge, local biodiversity, and sustainable resource management.
Its core principles are clear: support family farming, protect agricultural ecosystems, build climate resilience, reduce chemical inputs, and promote producer autonomy. The goal is twofold: to feed the population in a healthy and sustainable way, and to strengthen territorial sovereignty.
In Bolivia, agroecology makes perfect sense. Small-scale farmers, often from Indigenous communities, have deep knowledge of their lands. Agroecology enables them to reinvest this traditional knowledge while incorporating scientific contributions tailored to their context.
It helps conserve local seeds, limit soil erosion, diversify crops, and revive more equitable short supply chains. It also supports economic empowerment by reducing dependence on commercial seeds or imported fertilizers.
In short, agroecology is not a marginal alternative: it is a future-oriented solution that reconciles food sovereignty, social justice, and environmental sustainability.
Located in Cochabamba, the Pairumani Agroecological Farm is a flagship project of the Patiño Foundation. A true open-air laboratory, it combines sustainable production, technical training, and applied research in ecological science.
Practices include crop rotation, soil restoration, water management, and organic waste recovery. Each year, the farm trains dozens of small farmers in agroecological techniques adapted to their local conditions. This knowledge transfer helps farmers gain autonomy while sustainably improving their yields.
Also located in Pairumani, the Foundation’s seed center plays a key role in preserving agricultural biodiversity. It promotes local varieties that are resistant to extreme weather conditions and adapted to Andean ecosystems.
These seeds, distributed free of charge to farmers trained by the Foundation, help break the dependence on hybrid or imported seeds. This work of conservation and dissemination is part of a broader seed sovereignty approach, essential for ensuring sustainable, local production.
In the plains of Santa Cruz, Hacienda Patiño develops diversified agroecological production (crops, livestock, processing), with particular attention paid to environmental impact.
The farm prioritizes short supply chains, strengthens ties between producers and consumers, and serves as a replicable model in a region dominated by agribusiness. It shows that profitability, environmental stewardship, and food autonomy can go hand in hand.
The Patiño Foundation’s agroecological initiatives are already yielding tangible results on the ground. In both Pairumani and Santa Cruz, trained producers are seeing significantly improved yields, better resource management, and most importantly, greater economic independence.
Crop diversification, the use of local seeds, and reduced inputs allow families to produce more, better, and for their own consumption. Surpluses are sold on local markets, strengthening local economies and reducing reliance on import channels.
In a context marked by climate instability, agroecology also strengthens farm resilience. Simple techniques like windbreak hedges, contour farming, and green manure help protect the soil, retain moisture, and reduce losses during droughts or heavy rains.
This adaptability is essential for building sustainable food security, especially in rural areas where climate shocks are most devastating.
By strengthening local productivity, producer autonomy, and resource preservation, the Patiño Foundation’s projects offer a concrete and structural response to Bolivia’s food sovereignty challenges.
For several years, the Bolivian government has implemented public policies to support family and sustainable agriculture. Specific credit lines have been introduced to encourage small producers to adopt agroecological practices, with preferential rates and technical support.
The country has also introduced a national school meals program encouraging public schools to source local products. This measure not only improves the nutritional quality of meals but also creates direct outlets for local farmers, thereby strengthening short supply chains.
These initiatives are steps in the right direction but remain insufficiently implemented at the national level. Many challenges remain: lack of ongoing training for farmers, slow land reform, fierce competition from agribusiness, and limited market access for small producers.
This is why actors like the Patiño Foundation play a crucial role in complementing, experimenting with, and inspiring public policies. By aligning their actions with national strategies, they show that an agroecological transition is not only desirable—it is already underway.
Despite progress, Bolivia’s agricultural landscape remains heavily influenced by industrial and export-driven models. Transgenic soy, chemical fertilizers, and monocultures account for a significant portion of cultivated land, particularly in the eastern regions. This trend undermines the shift to more sustainable models, limits land access for small producers, and worsens ecosystem degradation.
In rural areas, many farmers still lack access to relevant training, practical tools, and support networks to adopt agroecological practices. Knowledge sharing remains uneven, often limited to certain regions or pilot projects. The lack of large-scale organization hinders the model’s broader adoption.
Finally, land issues remain a major obstacle. Many small producers lack clear land titles, limiting their access to credit, training, and public programs. A more ambitious and inclusive agrarian reform is needed to ensure fair land distribution and allow rural communities to build food sovereignty on solid foundations.
In Bolivia, food sovereignty is not declared—it is built season by season, community by community. Through its grassroots agroecological projects, the Simón I. Patiño Foundation shows that it is possible to produce differently, feed sustainably, and preserve ecosystems while strengthening producer autonomy.
Pairumani, its seed center, or the Hacienda in Santa Cruz are not just examples—they are living proof that another kind of agriculture is possible: one that is resilient, local, fair, and capable of meeting Bolivia’s nutritional needs while respecting local knowledge, lands, and ways of life.
But many challenges remain. Until public policies fully align with agroecological priorities, and access to land and training becomes more equitable, agroecology will remain a marginal solution. Stronger synergies are needed between foundations, institutions, producers, and engaged citizens to scale this model.
Supporting agroecology is not just about defending a farming technique. It’s about choosing a fairer, more sustainable, and more inclusive society. Support our work to strengthen food sovereignty in Bolivia. Every partnership, every donation, every commitment helps sow a freer agriculture and a more dignified food system.
