 |
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
 |
USAID Information:
External Links:
|
|
|
|
|
Sweet Onions Yield High Altitude Profits for Bolivian Farmers
FrontLines - July 2009
Atop the Bolivian Andes, the region of Oruro traditionally has been dependent on its tin mines for its economic well-being. Efforts to break that dependency through agriculture had left Oruro’s farmers among the poorest
in Bolivia until recently.
|
Local producers tend to crops of organic sweet onions, which flourish on once-barren land in the Bolivian Andes region of Oruro.
|
Roman Mamani was a miner in the town of Machacamaraca who was tired of spending long stretches of time away from his wife and six children just to make ends meet. Now, along with his two sons, he grows organic sweet onions on a parcel of once-barren land five minutes from his home, and his family’s income has doubled.
Partnering with USAID, farmers in Oruro and the neighboring
region of Cochabamba began planting onions. Although these varieties of onions had not been previously grown in this region, the area’s loose sandy soil, which contains little sulfur, is ideal for sweet onions.
“There were organic onions and sweet onions, but we brought a unique product,” said Marcelo Cespedes, the general manager of Bolivia Produce, who sold organic sweet onions at a trade fair.
In addition, at an altitude of more than 12,000 feet, there are fewer diseases and pests. This enabled onion farmers to become the world’s first commercial
producers of certified organic sweet onions. Over the past several years, approximately 500 poor families have benefited from the project, increasing their household income on average by 70 percent and leading to the prospects of a better life.
“Thanks to the onions, we don’t have to leave our community
for work,” said Roman. “Now we export them and we earn more money than we would with other crops.”
Bolivia’s organic sweet onions have been a big hit in the United States. Because the onions are harvested in December (the off-season for U.S. onion growers), the Bolivians have been able to enter a market with tremendous growth potential.
“We have seen 20 percent growth for the past several years,” said Matt Stocks, the organic vegetable
buyer for Melissa’s World Variety Produce in Los Angeles. “We buy the product that has the best flavor profile in the market, and the flavor of the Bolivian onion is superior to the others on the market.”
★
FrontLines is published
by the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs
U.S. Agency for International Development
To have FrontLines delivered
to you via postal mail, please subscribe.
Material should be submitted
by mail to Editor, FrontLines, USAID,
RRB, Suite 6.10, Washington, DC 20523-6100;
by FAX to 202-216-3035; or by e-mail to frontlines@usaid.gov
To view PDF files, download
the Adobe
Acrobat Reader.
Back to Top ^
|
