General Information
· Main climates: Tropical Wet, Tropical Wet and Dry, Tropical at 1 000 m above sea, Subtropical at 1 000 m above sea, Tropical Steppe and Semiarid
· Total land area: 109 858 000 ha
· Internal renewable water resources: 300 km3
· GNP per capita, 1998: PPP$ 2 205
· Main food consumed: Wheat, Sugar & honey, Maize, Roots & tubers, Rice
· Rice supply, 1999: 21.5 kg paddy/capita/year
Basic Statistics
|
1985 |
1990 |
1995 |
2000 |
RICE |
|
|
|
|
Harvested area (T ha) |
112 |
109 |
129 |
161 |
Yield (kg/ha) |
1535 |
1931 |
2032 |
1924 |
Production (T t) |
173 |
211 |
263 |
310 |
Imports (T t) |
19 |
1.32 |
0.27 |
NA |
Exports (t) |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
OTHERS |
|
|
|
|
Population (T) |
5895 |
6573 |
7414 |
NA |
Agr population (T) |
2833 |
2931 |
3246 |
NA |
Irrigated agr area (T ha) |
125 |
125 |
128 |
NA |
Fertilizer cons (t) |
5800 |
5162 |
6769 |
NA |
Agr tractors in use (units) |
4750 |
5200 |
5500 |
NA |
Producing Zones and Cropping Seasons
Rice is grown only in 9 provinces of the countries. The following table shows the harvested areas in the producing zones.
Production zone |
Harvested area (% total harvested area) |
Santa Cruz |
56.19 |
Potosi |
12.67 |
Lapaz |
7.99 |
Beni |
7.66 |
Cochabamba |
5.47 |
Oruno |
5.12 |
Pando |
3.12 |
Tarija |
1.26 |
Chiuquisaca |
0.51 |
The main rice season takes place during the rainy season as shown in the following table.
Cropping season |
Planting |
Harvesting |
Main season |
10-11 |
2-3 |
Production Practices
The following figure shows rice is grown mostly under upland ecology during 1995-2000 period. The government recently built a pilot irrigated rice area near Santa Cruz.
Rice is planted under slash-and-burn shifting cultivation systems (locally known as chaqueado), in which rice is grown either as mono crop or in mixture with other crops, especially maize and cowpea. Direct seeding into dry soils is the main method of crop establishment. Fertilizer and other agro-chemicals are rarely used in rice production. The following table shows the rice varieties planted in the country.
· Irrigated rice varieties
Variety Name |
Released period |
Growth duration (days) |
BLUEBELLE |
NA |
125 |
Jasaye |
1998 |
135 |
Saavedra |
1987 |
122 |
Sacia-1 (Tacu) |
1993 |
125 |
Sacia-2 (Tari) |
1993 |
125 |
Sacia-3 (Tutuma) |
1994 |
130 |
Sacia-4 (Jisunu) |
1994 |
|
Sacia-5 (Urupe) |
1996 |
|
San Pedro |
1987 |
130-135 |
CICA 8 |
NA |
NA |
CICA 9 |
1975-79 |
|
· Upland rice varieties
Variety Name |
Released period |
Growth duration (days) |
BLUEBONNET 50 |
NA |
NA |
CATECO |
NA |
NA |
DOURADAO |
NA |
NA |
IR DOMINICANA |
NA |
NA |
PICO NEGRO |
NA |
NA |
Dourado and Pico Negro were widely planted during the 1980s.
Constraints and Issues of Sustainable Production
Drought stresses caused by unreliable rainfall, aluminium toxicity and soil fertility losses in dominant upland systems.
Blast, Togasodes oryzicolus, Rice Hoja Blanca Virus.
Weed competition.
Inadequate knowledge and equipment for land preparation of small rice farmers in Santa Cruz where more than 50% of national harvested rice area was found.
Lack of credit and input supplies to small farmers, especially in Santa Cruz
The following table shows the rice production costs.
Other information |
Yield (t/ha) |
Cost ($/ha) |
Cost ($/t) |
Upland, 1983-84 |
3.5 |
119 |
34 |
Drought stresses and declining soil fertility are major issues confronting rice production in the country. Sustainable increased rice production requires policy support to the development of irrigation infrastructure and input and credit supply.
Research and Development Institutes
· CIAT, Casilla de Correos 247, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.
· Instituto Boliviano de Tecnologia Agropecuaria, Ministerio de AA.CC. y Agropecuarios, A.P. 5783, Avda. Camacho 1471, La Paz, Phone: (02) 374285,
· Instituto Boliviano de Tecnologia Agropecuaria, Estacion Experimental Agropecuaria de Los Llanos, A.P. 247, Avenida Ejercito 131, Santa Cruz de la Sierra,
· Departamento de Semillas, Avda. Camacho 1471, La Paz,
· Instituto Boliviano de Tecnologia Agropecuaria, Estacion Experimental de Chipiriri (Chapare), Avenida Oquendo, 6167, Cochabamba, Phone: 21543, CAOL, A.P. 469, Santa Cruz