Bolivia: Rains damage 13,000 hectares of potatoes and 7% of production is lost.

Heavy rains across the country are damaging several crops, with potatoes being the hardest hit. Production has been lost by 7% and 13,000 hectares have been affected,  Rural Development and Land Minister Yamil Flores reported Sunday.

He said other crops are also affected throughout the country due to rainfall; for example, corn accounts for 1.5% of the cultivated area, soybeans 0.4%, rice 4%, and others. He noted that more than 2,076,000 hectares of land are cultivated with different crops across the country.

"If we look at the total cultivated area of ​​2,076,000 hectares, 1.3% would have been lost. Potatoes are the most affected, with 13,000 hectares, representing 7% of production, but we still have enough," Flores explained.

He stated that the government is working to replace lost crops, and in the case of potatoes, production is expected to recover and increase during the winter planting season. "Potatoes have maintained their cost, and we are going to work twice as hard to recover lost volumes," he said.

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He recalled that the government is implementing several support programs for the country’s producers, and within that framework, efforts will be made to compensate for losses.

Heavy rains have plagued the country since late last year, and flooding and disasters have been reported in several regions this year.

Last week, Flavio Merlo, president of the Federation of Municipal Associations of Bolivia (FAM Bolivia), reported that 130 municipal governments were affected, to a greater or lesser extent, by the rains and hail, which caused flooding and jeopardized food security due to the loss of more than 60 hectares of crops.

On Tuesday, Deputy Minister of Agricultural Development Álvaro Molinedo stated that potato production has increased for the 2025 fiscal year and that an oversupply of the product is guaranteed for the coming months, despite the problems caused by the rains.