The late-winter potato harvest has begun in Santa Cruz, according to the Ministry of Rural Development and Land.
As part of a programme to strengthen potato production (FYPP) and through the public Decentralised Food Sovereignty Institution (Ipdsa), they had previously transferred 1,500 bushels of seed of the Desiree variety, to benefit the inhabitants of the municipality of Fernández Alonso, in the Obispo Santistevan province.
On that occasion, the Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Marisol Solano, said that climate change had affected potato production and that the Government had made 12 decrees to favour agriculture and to meet the needs caused by the droughts.
The director of the Ipdsa, Hilario Callisaya, said they had transferred the seeds to boost domestic production in times of low supply.
The investment amounted to 547,500 bolivianos, which corresponds to 70% of the project's contribution.
Callisaya said that yields reached 6.5 tons per hectare, and the production volume was 243.75 tons (4.875 quintals).
The more than 150 beneficiaries belong to the communities of Agua Rica, Aguay, Chane Independencia, Chane Magallanes, Alonso Fernandez, Monte Rico, and Puesto Fernandez, which have 37.5 hectares devoted to this crop.
Source: eldeber.com.bo