@article{Valdivia:11003,
      recid = {11003},
      author = {Valdivia, Fernando Crespo},
      title = {AN ANALYSIS OF LAND DISTRIBUTION AND CONCENTRATION IN  BOLIVIA},
      address = {1991},
      number = {1097-2016-88759},
      series = {Graduate Research Master's Degree Plan B Papers},
      pages = {165},
      year = {1991},
      abstract = {Despite the implementation of Bolivia's land reform in  1953, the agrarian structure continues to have an extreme  concentration of land.  Furthermore, in the last two  decades regional agrarian structure have been aggravated by  population pressures and a lack of new  technological
practices for most small scale farmers and  peasants. Public and private institutions and urban  residents observe hundreds of landless and near-landless  families in the cities searching for jobs. Most end up  becoming part of the growing unemployed labor force in the  urban sector.

The lack of industrialization policies to  create job opportunities for the rural population and the  explosive population growth in some rural area has  contributed to the increasing levels of poverty among  Bolivia's peasantry. Since a considerable proportion of the  population increase must be absorbed by the agricultural  sector, this has had a disadvantageous effect on those who  are dependent on agriculture. Meanwhile, biased  distribution of land has contributed to a reduction in the  size of the land holding of most peasants in the  subsistence or traditional sector. Many land holding are  becoming smaller, sometimes leading to small scattered  strips, while in other areas there is a gradual depletion  of soil fertility due to exhaustive methods of production.  It is believed that the demographic pressure is increasing  so much that farming methods employed are causing  environmental deterioration, such as soil exhaustation and  erosion, with all the attendant effects on production. This  land fragmentation has led to significant decreases in  income of most family production units.

At the same time,  tenure conditions are becoming less favorable for small  farmers and peasants, since landowners are placed in a  stronger position relative to the peasants. Furthermore,  agricultural land prices in the lowlands and new frontiers  have been increasing, which makes land
more attractive for  capitalists to buy as investments. With the difficult  access to land, the high population growth rates in some  areas, and the extreme concentration of land, Bolivian  peasants are unable to make a living on their own and are  forced to find employment as farm or urban
laborers. As a  result, wages have stagnated or even fallen through the  years, while unemployment has risen dramatically.

While  Bolivia has experiences a radical and highly publicized  land reform, in the last four decades old inequalities and  insecurities are reappearing. The family smallholding  system with private ownership has led to intense  subdivision and fragmentation of land in the highlands and  valleys. Furthermore, yields of most cash crops are low in  comparison to other Latin American countries. Research and  extension have been practically nonexistent throughout the  last two decades. Credit has been highly subsidized and  concentrated among large scale enterprises. Substitution of  illegal crops (coca leaves) has been increasing due to the  lack of labor opportunities and agricultural incentives.   Peasants are being pushed off their land in some prominent  agricultural areas by large scale farmers, irrespective of  the land markets and agrarian laws.

Under these  conditions, poverty among Bolivia's peasantry continues due  to the lack of coordinated development strategies in the  agricultural sector. Two of the leading causes of this  rural poverty is the lack of access to sufficient land for  the peasantry and land distribution patterns that have  arisen in the last two decades. Therefore, studies of land  concentration, which has a direct relationship with the  distribution of wealth in the rural economy, must be a  priority in order to develop the sector.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/11003},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.11003},
}