Bolivia
Context
The FFF has been supporting sustainable forest and farm livelihoods in Bolivia since 2012.
Operating primarily in the Amazon basin and the forested areas of Chiquitania, there is a particular focus on strengthening Indigenous Peoples’ groups. Beneficiaries use territorial planning tools and manage their natural resources – from individual plots to community forest lands – with a focus on conservation, restoration and resilience. They also incorporate best practices for processing forest fruits and consolidating organic production.
A major challenge in Bolivia is deforestation due to mining. Backed by the FFF, advocacy by the El Ceibo Cooperative Union has resulted in an official declaration by the cocoa-producing municipalities of Alto Beni and Palos Blancos – which were under threat from industrial mining – as mining-free zones.
The FFF programme is jointly implemented by the Network of Agricultural and Forestry Producers’ Organizations of Bolivia (ROPAF) and the Ministry of Rural Development and Lands (MDRyT), with technical support from FAO. In 2025, the FFF supported 12 umbrella forest and farm producer organizations across five departments in Bolivia, representing over 5 000 households.
Contacts
Coach:
[email protected]
Facilitator:
[email protected]
Products
Cocoa, coffee and Amazonian fruits are three of the key products grown by producers. These are processed into chocolate, roast coffee, jams, cookies and ice-cream which fetch a higher price than raw products. Other products include honey, citrus fruits and the Chiquitano almond.
Highlights
- Influencing policy
Unceasing advocacy by producer organizations supported by the FFF has led to key policy changes including the development and implementation of three National Programmes to strengthen cocoa, coffee and Amazonian fruit production. It also paved the way for the development and launch of Bolivia’s National Agroecology Strategy in 2025, proving that producer organizations can bring about large-scale changes.
- Strengthening social services
With FFF support, four cooperatives have implemented concrete social services to improve the lives of their communities. AAGROPAMA set up daycare for young children, APB Porvenir invested in school and university-level opportunities for its members, CIAPEC supported youth entrepreneurship, and SOS Women of Pando set up financial mechanisms to address urgent health and household needs.
- Production and markets
Backed by the FFF, multiple coffee-producing organizations (ANPROCA, AOPEB, APROCAFE, CELCCAR, and CIAPEC), have standardized their processes, established agroforestry systems and implemented organic certification. This has led to improved coffee quality and volumes. From 2020 to 2025, 640.5 tons of organic coffee beans were sold to international markets (USA, Germany, and Belgium) for a total of USD 3.11 million.
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