Bolivian agricultural output up 22% in 2012

Bolivia's agricultural production increased 22 percent in 2012 year on year, the Bolivian Institute of Foreign Trade (IBCE) said Monday. Sugarcane led the list of produce, with a total of more than 6.4 million tons, followed by soy, corn, rice, sorghum, sesame, cotton seeds, and cotton fiber. The total area of land cultivated during the 2012 summer season surpassed last year's figure by 18 percent. Lucio Tito, general director of Bolivia's National Institute of Agriculture and Forestry Innovation, declared 62 of the 337 municipalities "winners" for their surplus in agricultural production. "If we want to guarantee food security in our country, we have to stimulate the municipalities to continue producing and to set an example for others," he said Bolivia's Deputy Minister of Rural and Agriculture Development Victor Hugo Vasquez recently predicted Bolivia will achieve food self-sufficiency in 10 years. Winter season agricultural production, which began in recent weeks and ends next year, is projected to produce 1.7 million tons of crops.