Agricultural Technology Development Project

closed

The project has two main objectives. Firstly, to improve the overall efficiency of research and extension and, secondly, to directly support technology development in the highland agricultural sector. The project will establish a Consejo Nacional de Investigacion y Extension Agropecuaria (CNIEA) to more effectively coordinate research and extension in the country as a whole. The project will also strengthen the national agricultural research agency, the Instituto Boliviano de Tecnologia Agropecuaria (IBTA), and focus its efforts on developing technology suitable for smallholders in the highlands. The new IBTA will be reorganized on the basis of commodity programs, and be charged with overall responsibility for developing agricultural production, processing and marketing technology, and for demonstrating its technical, economic and social viability within the constraints of the rural conditions. The commodities to be researched will be: potato, cameloids, sheep and forage, maize, small grains, grain legumes (Faba beans and peas), and quinoa.