October 30, 2022, 19:58 PM
October 30, 2022, 19:58 PM
In the municipality of Bermejo (Tarija), sugarcane producers chose to replace their plantations to bet on the planting and harvesting of soybeans and wheat, achieving good yields.
At least 15 producers have been cultivating the grains since 2021 and this year they planted again on an area of approximately 150 hectares.
“We grow grains seeing that sugarcane is no longer profitable and that is why we are planting soybeans and wheat, considering that they have good prices in the national market,” said the president of the Multiactive Association of Producers of Sugarcane and Oilseeds of the South of Bermejo. (Aprocosub), Willam Valdez.
The producer indicated that the perspective of the sector is to expand the arable land to 300 hectares; that is, to double with the incorporation of another 15 of its associates to cover the growing demand for both products.
From the area they indicated that the harvested production of soybeans and wheat achieved in Bermejo is marketed in Santa Cruz at a price of US$400 per ton, which for now is the main market for this productive sector.
According to Valdez, the vision of Aprocosub is to increase the area to cover the future requirement of soy with the implementation of balanced food plants in the department of Tarija and an oil factory in San Julián (Santa Cruz).
The manager of the Agricultural Chamber of Tarija (CAT), Esteban Miranda, stated that despite the lack of necessary conditions for agricultural production, it is a good decision for this sector to grow grains, in addition to potatoes.
“Since a favorable situation is not happening, many producers uprooted their cane fields to replace them with soybeans and wheat, because when the harvest begins with a delay they are left with sugar cane in the field and that has been repeated every year,” he mentioned.
The municipality of Bermejo has been characterized as a cane and citrus producing region, but now a group of producers is leaning towards other alternative crops.
Soybeans and wheat are grown in the communities of Campo Grande, San Antonio, Trementinal, Playa Ancha, Barredero and Talita.
“As producers, we welcome the sowing of oilseeds and wheat to change the quality of life of the associate because our economy will be solvent due to the good prices that prevail in the domestic market and for export,” Valdez stressed.
In the two years of production, an average of two to three tons per hectare of soybeans and a similar figure for wheat were harvested.
Bolivia must import wheat because its production does not meet the demand. So, 70% of the wheat required by industries to make flour is imported.
In 2021, Bolivia imported nearly 55,000 tons of wheat, worth US$14 million.
