Cochabamba-Bolivia
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Master of Science in Life Sciences / Applied Agricultural and Forestry Sciences Effects of National Policies and Value Chain in potato seed diversity in the Municipality of Colomi (Cochabamba-Bolivia). Master’s Thesis Ana Gabriela Escobar School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL Zollikofen, 17. August 2014 Submitted to: Dr. Alessandra Giuliani, Bern University of Applied Sciences, School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (HAFL) Declaration of independent authorship I hereby declare that - I have read and understood the ‘HAFL Code of Behaviour on the Use of Information Sources’ and am aware of the consequences of not respecting this code; - I have written this thesis in compliance with these principles; - this thesis is my own work and has not been written for me, in whole or in part, by any other person(s). Place, date ….…………………………………………………………………… Signature ……………………………………………………………………….... ii Acknowledgements I would like to thank Dr. Ximena Cadima, Rhimer Gonzáles, Gonzalo Tiñini, Franz Terrazas, Ana María Cortez, Alder Keleman and Andrea Prichard for their unconditional support during my stay in Bolivia. To Dr. Isabel Lopez Noriega and Dr. Alessandra Giuliani, for their guid- ance and support during the entire process. To my family Ana Lucía Yánez, Homero Escobar, Diego Escobar and Pablo Escobar, gra- cias por ser el motor de mi vida, aún estando lejos. To my other half Christian, without you nothing would have been possible. iii Table of Contents List of abbreviations ................................................................................................................. v Technical Glossary for the Master Thesis................................................................................vi List of Tables...........................................................................................................................vii List of Figures ........................................................................................................................ viii Summary.................................................................................................................................. x 1 Introduction and problem definition.................................................................................... 1 1.1 The problem with Bolivia’s potato seed system .............................................................. 2 1.2 PROINPA’s project partner and master thesis contribution ............................................ 3 2 State of Research .............................................................................................................. 6 2.1 Seed systems in developing countries............................................................................ 6 2.2 Bolivia: potato production and diversity .......................................................................... 7 2.3 Potato seed system in Bolivia ......................................................................................... 9 2.3.1 SEPA .................................................................................................................... 9 2.3.2 Regulations for certified seed production and commercialization....................... 10 2.4 Study Area: Colomi Municipality .................................................................................. 12 2.4.1 Potato production in Colomi................................................................................ 13 2.4.2 Potato seed in Colomi......................................................................................... 15 3 Methods ........................................................................................................................... 16 3.1 Objective 1: Potato seed Value Chain Analysis............................................................ 16 3.1.1 Survey to members of indigenous communities ................................................. 16 3.1.2 Complementary Survey for farmers’ preferences ............................................... 18 3.1.3 Informal vendor survey ....................................................................................... 19 3.1.4 Key informant semi-structured interviews........................................................... 19 3.2 Objective 2: Formal seed sector analysis- policies and legal framework...................... 20 3.3 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 21 4 Results and Discussion.................................................................................................... 21 4.1 Findings: Potato seed Value Chain Analysis ................................................................ 21 4.1.1 Market Mapping .................................................................................................. 22 4.1.2 Potato Seed value chain for the Colomi farmers ................................................ 25 4.1.3 Findings: Survey to members of sampled indigenous communities................... 26 4.1.4 Findings: Complementary survey for farmer’s preferences ................................ 39 4.1.5 Findings: Informal vendor surveys and informal market analysis ....................... 42 4.1.6 Final Analysis and Market-Shed mapping .......................................................... 48 4.2 Findings: Formal seed sector analysis- key informant interviews................................. 49 4.2.1 SEPA (Unidad de Producción de Semilla de Papa) ........................................... 50 4.2.2 INIAF (Instituto Nacional de Innovación Agropecuaria y Forestal) ..................... 55 iv 5 Overall discussion............................................................................................................ 60 5.1 Comparison between the farmers’ communities located at the Highlands and Lowlands .................................................................................................................................. 60 5.2 Identified threats that affect farmers’ access to good quality potato seed .................... 61 5.3 Supply versus demand of potato seed varieties ........................................................... 62 5.4 Pros and cons of the informal potato seed market ....................................................... 63 5.5 The formal seed sector: strengths and weaknesses..................................................... 64 6 Conclusions and Recommendations ............................................................................... 66 6.1 Conclusions of the master study................................................................................... 66 6.2 Recommendations for PROINPA and Bioversity Internationals’ project....................... 68 7 References....................................................................................................................... 70 8 Annex............................................................................................................................... 74 8.1 Annex 1 Master Thesis project Definition ..................................................................... 74 8.2 Annex 2 Survey for farmers at sampled communities .................................................. 76 8.3 Annex 3 Survey for farmers preferences ...................................................................... 79 8.4 Annex 4 List of farmers interviewed per sampled community....................................... 80 8.5 Annex 5 Calculation of frequencies of farmers seed sources....................................... 83 8.6 Annex 6 Calculation of frequencies of potato seed varieties at Colomi fair .................. 85 8.7 Annex 7 Base questionnaires for semi-structured interviews with key informants ....... 86 8.7.1 SEPA .................................................................................................................. 86 8.7.2 INIAF................................................................................................................... 88 8.7.3 Vendors and Transporters at Markets ................................................................ 89 8.8 Annex 8 Seed Flows at the Candelaria District at different eco-regions...................... 90 8.9 Annex 9, INIAF: Brochures of certified potato seed producers, seed categories and process of certification............................................................................................... 91 v List of abbreviations APROS Asociaciones de Productores de Semillas- A.R.A.P.I Asociación Rural de Agricultores Productores Independientes, Rural Association of Independent Producers ASAR Artisanal Rural Services BOB Bolivian Boliviano (currency) CEPAL Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe), Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean CIP International Potato Center FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations INIAF Instituto Nacional de Innovación Agropecuaria y Forestal IBTA Institutio Boliviano de Tecnología Agricola -Bolivian Institute for Agri- cultural Technology MDRyT Ministerio de Desarrollo Rural y Tierras –Ministry of Land and Rural development NECSP Normas Específicas para Certificación de Semilla de Papa- Specific Norms for Potato Seed certification NGSEA Norma General sobre Semillas de Especies Agrícolas- General Norm for Seeds and Agricultural Species NGO Non-profit Organization NRNV Normas de Registro Nacional de Variedades- Norms for National Reg- istry of Varieties ORS Oficinas Regionales de Semillas- Regional