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The Search for a Viable Alternative to Slash and Burn Agriculture in the Lowland Plains of Bolivia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2008

J. V. Wilkins
J. V. Wilkins
Affiliation:
British Tropical Agricultural Mission, Casilla 359, Santa Cruz, Bolivia
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Summary

A multidisciplinary team has attempted to find a sustainable alternative to slash and burn agriculture in deciduous forest in the Bolivian lowlands for those who do not have access to tractor power. Farm size ranges from 30 to 50 hectares and labour and capital are major constraints to development. Fertilizers are not used because of their high price. The alternative proposed is that the farm should contain an area of not more than one hectare in alley cropping producing the family's requirements in farinaceous foods and vegetables, and an area, limited by labour constraints, of perennial crops for cash income. The balance of the farm would be in a silvipastoral system producing various tree products, beef and cheese for sale and sheep for home consumption.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 27 , Issue 1 , January 1991 , pp. 39 - 46
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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