Rural Dynamics In Bolivia

Assignment 3
Rural Dynamics in Bolivia

By
Padraic O’Brien (0775270)

Work presented to
Professor John Devlin
For the course
Rural Development Administration (RPD-6291)

University of Guelph
December 9, 2011

Rural Dynamics in Bolivia

The rural sector is undergoing momentous transformation in this 21st century. While this may be overshadowed by the general change occurring inthe global economy, and by the massive change the rural sector has already gone through in all parts of the world across the 20th century, the current developments are no less important. The combination of a number of trends such as continued urbanization, persistent high levels of poverty in the countryside of most of the world, high food price volatility, migration, renewed struggles over thecontrol of land, globalization of production and global environmental degradation, is fuelling uncertainty as to the future of the rural sector and its role in human development (FAO, 2011). Different rural areas are affected by and responding to these trends differently – some are experiencing phenomenal growth while others are undergoing a steeper than ever decline. This trend is traceable evenwithin countries, and so appears much stronger than national policies. This study will take the example of Bolivia, and contrast its two main rural regions – the occidental Altiplano and valleys, and the oriental Lowlands – in terms of development trends, historically and contemporarily. Following our description and comparison, we will discuss the geographic, political, economic and socio-culturalfactors behind the divergent and convergent trends and explain the difference in outcomes. We will conclude by adding nuance to this picture of a two-track, win-or-lose agricultural system, in view of the dynamics identified, and sketch out implications for the evolution of the rural world.

1. The rural sector in Bolivia
Bolivia offers the ideal case for a comparative study between two ruralareas. It is, and has always historically been, divided into two neatly distinct, geographical, political, economic and socio-cultural regions: the Andean Highlands, encompassing both the Altiplano (higher plateau) and the Valleys, and the tropical Eastern Lowlands. Even today, the contrast in terms of development between the two regions has never been so strong, and is particularly manifestbetween their rural sectors.

Figure 1 Map of Bolivia with Altiplano (blue), Valleys (Red) and Lowlands (Green) (source: Wikitravel)
These divergences can be largely understood in terms of the agricultural profile of both regions. While in the Altiplano, the traditional center of the country, a “peasant” or campesino system, centered on largely Indigenous small family or communal farming of cropsfor subsistence or national consumption has predominated, in the Eastern Lowlands, and mostly in the department of Santa Cruz, agricultural production, and the rural sector in general, has been led by export-oriented agri-businesses, controlled by transnational interests or Bolivians of European descent (Albarracín, 2001; Ormachea, 2008). In the Altiplano, traditional staple crops such aspotatoes, beans, maize and quinoa tend to be dominant, while in the Lowlands, large plantations of sugar cane, rice, sunflower, rice, and, increasingly, soy, alongside extensive cattle pastures, dominate the landscape. In the Valleys, fruit and vegetable production are predominant, but follow the same socio-economic patterns of Altiplano agriculture.
On the rural sector and agriculture in Bolivia
Whilerural does not necessarily equate to agriculture, in Bolivia, where 37.5% of the population is still rural, it is largely the case. Agriculture makes up 85% of the revenue of the 2.7 million small producers in the country, a proportion that does not account for the importance of self-subsistence (Urioste, 2009). A major difference between both regions however is that in Santa Cruz, which...