Agriculture is a fundamental pillar of the Bolivian economy and the primary livelihood of its rural population. The sector has not only been a key driver of economic growth but also an essential element in poverty reduction, job creation, and improved nutrition. Facing challenges such as urbanization, climate change, and the growing need for more sustainable natural resource management, Bolivian agriculture is dynamically evolving to adapt.
In this context, the Rural Partnerships Program (Programa de Alianzas Rurales - PAR) was created as a Bolivian government initiative supported by the World Bank (funding and technical assistance) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (technical guidance). Since 2006, PAR has worked to strengthen smallholder farmers by fostering productive alliances, collaborations between farmers, buyers, associations, and institutions to improve market access, profitability, and sustainability. To date, the PAR, in its stages I and II, has benefited 2,601 alliances and has strengthened the farmers participating in these alliances throughout Bolivia with investment capital and technical assistance.
PAR does not directly create cooperatives (cooperativas) but instead helps existing rural producer organizations (including cooperatives, associations, and other groups) to develop their institutional and productive capacities (e.g.: formalization of the business, access to financing mechanisms and new markets, adopting new technologies).
To support the organizations, the government hires consulting firms or individual consultants that have proven expertise in the theme of the advisory. After helping the organization to formalize itself (i.e.: making its legal registry, getting sanitary and environmental licenses for operation, having a bank account), the facilitators support associations to build business-oriented plans where investments and risks are shared across the producers. Then, the support is focused on developing and implementing these agricultural plans, fostering efficiency, profitability, and market access.
Continued advisory is provided according to each association’s plan and demands. The technical assistance focuses on adoption of sustainable and more efficient crop management practices, increased water use efficiency in irrigation, good management of agricultural inputs, procurement processes, financial management and consolidation of production costs, among others.
The assistance is especially adapted to the gender, educational and social backgrounds of the assisted farmers. The program proposes mechanisms to ensure that the needs of the population of native indigenous, intercultural peasant and Afro-Bolivian women in the areas of intervention are considered and that they can effectively participate in the subprojects of community/productive alliances and receive the benefits of their participation. Moreover, it has explicit objectives to close the gender gaps in agriculture with respect to: (a) income and labor market, (b) Access to Credit, (c) Gender Violence, (d) Productive Options, (e) Education, (f) Employment and (g) Land Ownership, promoting women's empowerment.
Particularly, PAR III will implement small-scale investments in infrastructure and services for better nutrition and vulnerability reduction actions. These include technologically advanced irrigation, the use of moisture sensors, and the use of drones to obtain real-time data on food production, among other increasingly sustainable and environmentally friendly practices. This project aligns with the national policy framework outlined in Bolivia’s Economic and Social Development Plan (PDES 2021–2025) and has the objective to reach 1,270 rural producer organizations.
Improving the quantity and quality of agricultural products not only implies improving the income and competitiveness of rural producers, but also ensuring that Bolivia has enough food to meet its nutrition and social development plans, a key challenge in the country.
The first phase, launched in 2006, reached more than 28,000 rural households and established 768 partnerships. PAR II, in 2012, extended its reach to more than 23,000 families in 120 municipalities in the country. The third phase, planned to last until 2027, aims to support around 128,000 rural households, with an emphasis on the adoption of agricultural practices that take into account climate variability.
The first phase of PAR began in 2006 with an investment of US$64.8 million. It was followed by PAR II in 2012, which received a new phase of World Bank funding of US$150 million. Both phases contributed significantly to increasing incomes in rural areas and transforming small-scale agriculture from a subsistence sector to a much more market-oriented one. The recently launched third phase of the PAR focuses on strengthening the agricultural sector in the face of climate and economic shocks, with a planned duration until 2027 and an investment of USD 300 million from the World Bank.
The Rural Partnerships Program (PAR) in Bolivia operates under a multi-stakeholder, state-mediated collaborative governance model that combines centralized policy direction with decentralized implementation and participatory decision-making. The Bolivian government, primarily through the Ministry of Rural Development and Lands (MDRyT), provides the overarching strategic framework, ensuring alignment with national development plans such as the PDES 2021–2025 and food sovereignty policies. However, governance is distinctly polycentric, incorporating international financial and technical partners like the World Bank (which provides funding and results-based oversight) and the FAO (which contributes expertise in sustainable agriculture and climate adaptation).
At the local level, the program employs a participatory, bottom-up approach by fostering 2,601 producer alliances that connect smallholder farmers, private buyers, cooperatives, and technical advisors. These alliances function as shared-governance platforms where risks, investments, and decision-making are collectively managed. The model also integrates gender-inclusive governance mechanisms, specifically targeting the empowerment of indigenous women farmers to address disparities in labor participation and resource access.
Financing and oversight follow a hybrid public-private-civil society structure: public funds (e.g., World Bank loans) underwrite infrastructure and technical assistance, while market linkages are driven by private-sector partnerships. Civil society actors, including indigenous organizations, play a formal role in co-designing interventions and ensuring equity. Climate adaptation is embedded into governance through technocratic inputs (e.g., FAO-led sustainable practices) and localized adaptation (e.g., farmer-driven adoption of irrigation technologies).
The program’s governance is further characterized by evidence-based iteration, with impact evaluations (e.g., PAR II’s proven income gains) informing scaling and adjustments. This creates a dynamic system that balances state coordination, international accountability, and local agency—a deliberate design to transition subsistence farming into a resilient, market-integrated sector while addressing Bolivia’s structural inequalities and climate vulnerabilities.
In essence, PAR’s governance is neither purely top-down nor entirely grassroots-led but a negotiated equilibrium among stakeholders, with the state acting as the anchor amid decentralized execution. This reflects Bolivia’s broader development ethos, where sovereignty goals intersect with global sustainability frameworks and localized empowerment.
Bolivia’s government open data platform: https://www.datos.gob.bo/
El impacto económico y social por la implementación del proyecto de alianzas rurales en la región norte de Bolívia (2009-2015) – CHAMBI, A., 2017. “El Impacto Económico y Social por la Implementación del Proyecto de Alianzas Rurales en la Región Norte de Bolivia (2009-2015)”, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés - Tesis de Grado.
Findings: PAR I has produced an increase in the net income of the household's productive activity of Bs 36,386, 57 per year more than a non-beneficiary producer. The net productive income is higher by Bs. 3,030 per month of the beneficiary of PAR I compared to the non-beneficiary. This change is statistically significant, which means that participation in the PAR has consistently and clearly increased the income of households, producing a positive impact. The general increase in net income from productive activities (agriculture and livestock) represents an effective contribution of the project towards poverty reduction and the fulfilment of its objective. This increase in income of Bs 3,030 per month is well above the poverty line.
Informe Final de Evaluación de impacto del PAR 2023 – Banco de Trabajo de Investigación, Elaborado por: Javier Monterrey Arce, 2023.
Findings: PAR II generated significant economic and social impacts for participating producers. It increased average annual labor income by 53% (USD 1,179) and boosted gross production income by USD 2,139 (59% net income rise). The program also raised self-consumption value by 22% (USD 146 to USD 179) while reducing unit production costs. Key livestock incomes surged (e.g., poultry +490%, cattle +71%), and crop/subproduct incomes grew (e.g., potatoes +48%, maize +50%). PAR II reduced moderate poverty by 12 percentage points (62% to 50%) and extreme poverty by 11 points (42% to 31%), driven by higher production volumes and better market prices. By shifting subsistence farming to market-oriented efficiency, PAR strengthened food security, import substitution, and collective well-being through technical assistance and producer alliances.
● The implementation process in Bolivia revealed several critical lessons. Economic growth driven by commodity booms and public spending initially reduced poverty significantly, but this progress proved vulnerable to external shocks like falling commodity prices and the COVID-19 crisis. This highlights the need for more diversified and resilient economic strategies beyond extractive industries.
● Agriculture emerged as a vital sector for poverty reduction, yet its potential remains constrained by structural challenges. Smallholder farmers face severe limitations due to land fragmentation, low productivity, and unequal market access. Successful approaches require collective action through producer organizations to strengthen bargaining power, share risks, and improve technology adoption.
● Climate-smart agricultural practices proved essential for sustainability. Bolivia's current agricultural output falls far below its potential, with opportunities to nearly double productivity through improved irrigation, crop diversification, and better land management. Investments in water-efficient technologies and climate-resilient practices are necessary to adapt to increasing climate volatility while protecting natural resources.
● The importance of targeted public investment became clear, particularly in supporting smallholder farmers through credit access, infrastructure, and technical assistance. When fiscal space contracted after 2014, poverty reduction slowed dramatically, showing how crucial well-directed agricultural spending is for maintaining progress.
● Technology and innovation must be inclusive to benefit marginalized groups. Digital tools like mobile advisory services and precision agriculture equipment can bridge knowledge gaps if designed for accessibility. Similarly, addressing gender disparities in agriculture through targeted support for women farmers is necessary to unlock the sector's full potential.
● Finally, resilience requires integrating economic and climate adaptation policies. The combined shocks of COVID-19 and commodity price collapses exposed vulnerabilities that could be mitigated through diversified rural livelihoods and climate-smart production systems. Programs that combine market access with environmental sustainability and social inclusion show the most promise for lasting impact.
● SDG 1: No Poverty
○ Target 1.1: By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day.
○ Target 1.2: By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions.
○ Target 1.4: By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services.
● SDG 2: Zero Hunger
○ Target 2.1: By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.
○ Target 2.3: By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment.
○ Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality.
● SDG 5: Gender Equality
○ Target 5.5: Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.
○ Target 5.a: Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws.
● SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
○ Target 8.3: Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services.
● SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
○ Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
● SDG 13: Climate Action
○ Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
● SDG 15: Life on Land
○ Target 15.3: By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.
● SDG 1: No Poverty
○ Target 1.1: By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day.
○ Target 1.2: By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions.
○ Target 1.4: By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services.
● SDG 2: Zero Hunger
○ Target 2.1: By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.
○ Target 2.3: By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment.
○ Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality.
● SDG 5: Gender Equality
○ Target 5.5: Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.
○ Target 5.a: Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws.
● SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
○ Target 8.3: Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services.
● SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
○ Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
● SDG 13: Climate Action
○ Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
● SDG 15: Life on Land
○ Target 15.3: By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.
Agriculture is a fundamental pillar of the Bolivian economy and the primary livelihood of its rural population. The sector has not only been a key driver of economic growth but also an essential element in poverty reduction, job creation, and improved nutrition. Facing challenges such as urbanization, climate change, and the growing need for more sustainable natural resource management, Bolivian agriculture is dynamically evolving to adapt.
In this context, the Rural Partnerships Program (Programa de Alianzas Rurales – PAR) was created as a Bolivian government initiative supported by the World Bank (funding and technical assistance) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (technical guidance). Since 2006, PAR has worked to strengthen smallholder farmers by fostering productive alliances, collaborations between farmers, buyers, associations, and institutions to improve market access, profitability, and sustainability. To date, the PAR, in its stages I and II, has benefited 2,601 alliances and has strengthened the farmers participating in these alliances throughout Bolivia with investment capital and technical assistance.
PAR does not directly create cooperatives (cooperativas) but instead helps existing rural producer organizations (including cooperatives, associations, and other groups) to develop their institutional and productive capacities (e.g.: formalization of the business, access to financing mechanisms and new markets, adopting new technologies).
To support the organizations, the government hires consulting firms or individual consultants that have proven expertise in the theme of the advisory. After helping the organization to formalize itself (i.e.: making its legal registry, getting sanitary and environmental licenses for operation, having a bank account), the facilitators support associations to build business-oriented plans where investments and risks are shared across the producers. Then, the support is focused on developing and implementing these agricultural plans, fostering efficiency, profitability, and market access.
Continued advisory is provided according to each association’s plan and demands. The technical assistance focuses on adoption of sustainable and more efficient crop management practices, increased water use efficiency in irrigation, good management of agricultural inputs, procurement processes, financial management and consolidation of production costs, among others.
The assistance is especially adapted to the gender, educational and social backgrounds of the assisted farmers. The program proposes mechanisms to ensure that the needs of the population of native indigenous, intercultural peasant and Afro-Bolivian women in the areas of intervention are considered and that they can effectively participate in the subprojects of community/productive alliances and receive the benefits of their participation. Moreover, it has explicit objectives to close the gender gaps in agriculture with respect to: (a) income and labor market, (b) Access to Credit, (c) Gender Violence, (d) Productive Options, (e) Education, (f) Employment and (g) Land Ownership, promoting women’s empowerment.
Particularly, PAR III will implement small-scale investments in infrastructure and services for better nutrition and vulnerability reduction actions. These include technologically advanced irrigation, the use of moisture sensors, and the use of drones to obtain real-time data on food production, among other increasingly sustainable and environmentally friendly practices. This project aligns with the national policy framework outlined in Bolivia’s Economic and Social Development Plan (PDES 2021–2025) and has the objective to reach 1,270 rural producer organizations.
Improving the quantity and quality of agricultural products not only implies improving the income and competitiveness of rural producers, but also ensuring that Bolivia has enough food to meet its nutrition and social development plans, a key challenge in the country.
● The implementation process in Bolivia revealed several critical lessons. Economic growth driven by commodity booms and public spending initially reduced poverty significantly, but this progress proved vulnerable to external shocks like falling commodity prices and the COVID-19 crisis. This highlights the need for more diversified and resilient economic strategies beyond extractive industries.
● Agriculture emerged as a vital sector for poverty reduction, yet its potential remains constrained by structural challenges. Smallholder farmers face severe limitations due to land fragmentation, low productivity, and unequal market access. Successful approaches require collective action through producer organizations to strengthen bargaining power, share risks, and improve technology adoption.
● Climate-smart agricultural practices proved essential for sustainability. Bolivia’s current agricultural output falls far below its potential, with opportunities to nearly double productivity through improved irrigation, crop diversification, and better land management. Investments in water-efficient technologies and climate-resilient practices are necessary to adapt to increasing climate volatility while protecting natural resources.
● The importance of targeted public investment became clear, particularly in supporting smallholder farmers through credit access, infrastructure, and technical assistance. When fiscal space contracted after 2014, poverty reduction slowed dramatically, showing how crucial well-directed agricultural spending is for maintaining progress.
● Technology and innovation must be inclusive to benefit marginalized groups. Digital tools like mobile advisory services and precision agriculture equipment can bridge knowledge gaps if designed for accessibility. Similarly, addressing gender disparities in agriculture through targeted support for women farmers is necessary to unlock the sector’s full potential.
● Finally, resilience requires integrating economic and climate adaptation policies. The combined shocks of COVID-19 and commodity price collapses exposed vulnerabilities that could be mitigated through diversified rural livelihoods and climate-smart production systems. Programs that combine market access with environmental sustainability and social inclusion show the most promise for lasting impact.
-; Climate resilient agricultural technologies; Pro-poor access to agricultural inputs, technology and knowledge; Promote inclusive access to agricultural markets
The Rural Partnerships Program (PAR) in Bolivia operates under a multi-stakeholder, state-mediated collaborative governance model that combines centralized policy direction with decentralized implementation and participatory decision-making. The Bolivian government, primarily through the Ministry of Rural Development and Lands (MDRyT), provides the overarching strategic framework, ensuring alignment with national development plans such as the PDES 2021–2025 and food sovereignty policies. However, governance is distinctly polycentric, incorporating international financial and technical partners like the World Bank (which provides funding and results-based oversight) and the FAO (which contributes expertise in sustainable agriculture and climate adaptation).
At the local level, the program employs a participatory, bottom-up approach by fostering 2,601 producer alliances that connect smallholder farmers, private buyers, cooperatives, and technical advisors. These alliances function as shared-governance platforms where risks, investments, and decision-making are collectively managed. The model also integrates gender-inclusive governance mechanisms, specifically targeting the empowerment of indigenous women farmers to address disparities in labor participation and resource access.
Financing and oversight follow a hybrid public-private-civil society structure: public funds (e.g., World Bank loans) underwrite infrastructure and technical assistance, while market linkages are driven by private-sector partnerships. Civil society actors, including indigenous organizations, play a formal role in co-designing interventions and ensuring equity. Climate adaptation is embedded into governance through technocratic inputs (e.g., FAO-led sustainable practices) and localized adaptation (e.g., farmer-driven adoption of irrigation technologies).
The program’s governance is further characterized by evidence-based iteration, with impact evaluations (e.g., PAR II’s proven income gains) informing scaling and adjustments. This creates a dynamic system that balances state coordination, international accountability, and local agency—a deliberate design to transition subsistence farming into a resilient, market-integrated sector while addressing Bolivia’s structural inequalities and climate vulnerabilities.
In essence, PAR’s governance is neither purely top-down nor entirely grassroots-led but a negotiated equilibrium among stakeholders, with the state acting as the anchor amid decentralized execution. This reflects Bolivia’s broader development ethos, where sovereignty goals intersect with global sustainability frameworks and localized empowerment.
The first phase, launched in 2006, reached more than 28,000 rural households and established 768 partnerships. PAR II, in 2012, extended its reach to more than 23,000 families in 120 municipalities in the country. The third phase, planned to last until 2027, aims to support around 128,000 rural households, with an emphasis on the adoption of agricultural practices that take into account climate variability.
The first phase of PAR began in 2006 with an investment of US$64.8 million. It was followed by PAR II in 2012, which received a new phase of World Bank funding of US$150 million. Both phases contributed significantly to increasing incomes in rural areas and transforming small-scale agriculture from a subsistence sector to a much more market-oriented one. The recently launched third phase of the PAR focuses on strengthening the agricultural sector in the face of climate and economic shocks, with a planned duration until 2027 and an investment of USD 300 million from the World Bank.
Bolivia’s government open data platform: https://www.datos.gob.bo/