Enhancing Quinoa Yields in the Southern Altiplano of Bolivia: An Integrated Agronomic and Economic Approach

Quinoa production in Bolivia’s southern Altiplano region takes place under some of the most severe agroecological conditions in the Andes. These include extreme altitude, scarce and variable rainfall, frequent frost, strong winds, and, more recently, widespread soil degradation. Organic soil amendments, such as compost, are promoted to restore soil fertility and improve productivity in certified quinoa systems. However, evidence on their effectiveness under real smallholder farming conditions is limited because existing studies often fail to distinguish agronomic potential from realized impacts shaped by environmental and management constraints. This paper addresses this gap by integrating agronomic diagnostics, intervention design, controlled validation, and impact evaluation within a unified framework. First, the study conducts a detailed soil analysis to identify constraints in certified production plots. Next, a compost intervention is designed and validated under controlled conditions to establish agronomic feasibility and potential. Then, a pilot intervention in randomly selected plots estimates the effects of the intervention under real cultivation conditions, including climatic variability, weed pressure, wind exposure, and varied management intensity. The results show that compost application increases quinoa productivity on average, but realized impacts vary with environmental exposure and management practices. Climatic stress, weed competition, wind intensity, and plot’s owner presence influence how much the intervention’s potential translates into observed outcomes. Methodologically, the study shows how combining agronomic validation with causal inference principles improves the interpretation and policy relevance of evidence in high-risk agroecological settings.