Sustained Market Access for Subsistence Farmers in Bolivia

FIELD Report No. 7. Final Learning Agenda Report.  Produced in collaboration with the FIELD-Support, April 2010

A Heavily Indebted Poor Country, Bolivia has a population of 9.1 million inhabitants, of which 63 percent are poor and 34 percent cannot cover their basic food needs. However, in rural areas, poverty reaches 84 percent of all homes and, of these, 67 percent live in extreme poverty. In this context, Save the Children has been working through the USAID Food for Peace Title II program to improve availability, access and utilization of food at the household level. The program has focused on a range of food production, marketing and other activities targeting poor rural households in seven municipalities in La Paz Department with particular emphasis on enhancing the income-earning opportunities among small farmers to ensure adequate, year-round household food supply. The program has yielded positive results with over 14 farmer organizations and 5,830 farmers now participating in more than ten value chains, many now meeting collectively set and managed quality standards. Despite these successes, a number of farmers groups are still highly dependent on the support of Save the Children to sustain their market relationships with buyers and other stakeholders. A common challenge, this pilot will identify approaches to reducing this need for a direct support provider and document this overall experience.

http://www.microlinks.org/ev_en.php?ID=43319_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC