In Bolivia, Director-General visits farming community and fish centre on Lake Titicaca

La Paz - FAO Director-General QU Dongyu today visited the small Aymara Indigenous Peoples’ farming community of Huatapampa and a fish centre using floating trout cages on Lake Titicaca.

At the village of Huatapampa located at an altitude of 3,864 meters, in the high plateau of the Department of La Paz, with around 576 inhabitants, the Director-General observed agricultural production on terraces, using ancestral technology. This helps to reduce soil erosion, protect crops from frost and promote the diversity of food species such as potatoes, grains and vegetables. He also witnessed a planting demonstration and saw an exhibition of Andean products. 

The community harbours a wealth of ancestral knowledge and genetic biodiversity adapted to high altitude conditions and a well-developed knowledge of risk management and food preservation. Families store their food for the medium and long term, converted it into dried grains, dehydrated potato and goose products. Their diet consists mainly of potatoes, maize, beans and other crops complemented by fishing and the raising of domestic animals such as sheep, cows and chickens

The Director-General stressed the importance of preserving the environment and reiterated the commitment of FAO to serve the community for a better quality of life. He encouraged community members to produce more and to diversify to sell flowers in pots and promote agrotourism. 

FAO will continue to support the highly diverse and ancestral food production systems with key actors in different Bolivia regions, the Director-General underlined.

The Director-General also visited the Tiquina Fish Centre, which works in collaboration with Bolivia’s National Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Innovation (INIAF)  on innovative technologies to enhance fish production.

The visit included a tour of the Fish Production Centre (INIAF) and a visit to the facility’s more than 130 floating cages for trout farming in Lake Titicaca, producing 100 tons per breeding period as well as an overview of the fish feed production facility and the reproduction laboratory for native aquaculture species. The Director-General commended the research efforts to restore native species in Lake Titicaca.