Programme description

Title: Agricultural Development Program (PROAGRO)
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Bolivia
Lead executing agency: Ministerio de Planificación del Desarrollo, Viceministro de Inversión Pública y Financiamiento Externo (VIPFE)
Overall term: 2005 to 2017

Context

The areas of Bolivia most affected by poverty are the rural regions where the local economy is insufficiently diversified and potential is limited due to a shortage of water resources. The situation in rural drylands is set to get worse as conditions in these marginal production areas continue to deteriorate as a result of climate change. The negative effects include a reduction in water availability, shorter growing seasons, an increase in extreme weather events and production risks. Agricultural production and the water resources needed for this process are important factors in safeguarding people’s livelihoods and income, particularly in the drylands in southern Bolivia. The area needs a proper irrigation infrastructure, coordination mechanisms for the sustainable management and distribution of scarce water resources and efficient, needs-orientated services for improving agricultural production and marketing.

With its national programmes on irrigation, watershed management, agricultural innovation and marketing, the Bolivian Government has established the cornerstones for promoting agriculture. However, it still requires support with implementing the programmes. The quality, interlinking and effectiveness of measures introduced by the government programmes on agricultural development are insufficient.

Objective

The resilience of smallholder producers in rural drylands to the risks posed by climate change is increased. The management of watersheds is more orientated towards ensuring the availability and fair distribution of water resources. The revenue from agricultural production is sustainably increased.

Approach

PROAGRO (Programa de Desarrollo Agropecuario Sustentable) works at various levels – national, regional and local. Accordingly, the project supports the Bolivian Government in implementing national sector programmes that contribute to poverty reduction in rural areas and to the country’s current development programme. PROAGRO works closely with the regional and local institutions responsible for implementation. All the measures are interconnected and can be applied flexibly as needed.

The project is now run jointly by Germany and Sweden as part of a combined financing arrangement with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

• Supporting the National Programme for Watershed Management
  The project advises the Bolivian Government on developing concepts and implementing the programme. Experts from the participating ministries receive support in carrying out their work. At the same time, PROAGRO promotes local watershed management measures in small river valleys in Norte Potosí, Chaco und the Valles Mesotérmico (Tarija, Chuquisaca, Santa Cruz und Cochabamba). Experience gathered in these areas is fed continuously into national policy-making.
• Supporting the National Irrigation Plan
  PROAGRO supports efforts to improve the institutional, human resources and legislative basis for national sector policy. It also provides advisory services to the regional governments and authorities responsible for the implementation of the National Irrigation Plan. In cooperation with national universities, the project runs training programmes for decision-makers and technicians from state institutions and private companies.
• Supporting the National Programme for Agricultural Technology Transfer and Marketing
  The focus of all the measures is the sustainable management of natural resources in agriculture. This includes, for example, improving the quality and the profitability of smallholder production as well as providing guidance on marketing agricultural products.

Results achieved so far

With the support given to the National Irrigation Plan, irrigation systems have been extended across an additional 12,800 hectares since 2005. More than 10,600 families have benefited from this achievement. Their food security has improved significantly and many of their incomes have nearly tripled.

In collaboration with the Chaco Foundation, 64 technology transfer projects with a total value of just over USD 5.2 million have been implemented in Chaco. Staff at the Foundation received expert advice, helping to promote the National Programme for Agricultural Technology Transfer and Marketing. The projects have improved the lives of some 14,000 families. Support is currently being provided to new institutions created by the government, such as the National Institute for Innovation in Agriculture and Forestry (INIAF) and EMPODERAR-PAR.

• Regional Measures in Chaco
  The focus is on local and regional economic promotion as well as supporting irrigation and watershed management. In 14 of the 16 municipalities there is now a commission for local economic promotion, which is responsible for on-site planning. They also take up proposals submitted by the local population. A quarter of local project applications come from women, young people and the indigenous population. The programme supports measures to make innovative irrigation and farming technology available to selected medium and large-sized agricultural producers. With an annual family income that often only amounts to around USD 1,400, these producers are living barely above the poverty line. Intensive cultivation encourages direct employment and enables innovations to be shared. This leads to positive developments for smallholder producers.
• Regional Measures in Norte de Potosí / Sur de Cochabamba
  In cooperation with 11 municipalities and the same number of local non-governmental organisations, work is in progress to improve the availability of water for agriculture. Farming families are being provided with micro-irrigation systems. If there are no natural water sources, basins for collecting rainwater are built. They supply the irrigation system with water and at the same time act as a buffer in the face of climate change. In addition, there are measures to provide protection against erosion in watersheds, to encourage efficient water use and to ensure irrigation farming is productive. This is increasing the food security of the indigenous population in one of the poorest regions in Bolivia.
• Regional Measures in Valles Mesotérmicos
  Management plans have been developed using a participatory approach in six small and medium-sized watersheds in the inter-Andean valleys. These plans will now help to advance protection measures for the implementation of integral projects, such as irrigation, drinking water supply systems and agricultural production. Using water more efficiently has led to greater food security for the smallholders, most of whom live in poverty. They are now also less vulnerable to climate change.