Land use suitability for cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) cultivation in Tumupasa, municipality of San Buenaventura - La Paz

Jose Luis Calle P., Magaly Mendoza A., Roberto Miranda C.

Abstract

Planning based on land evaluation is the process of determining and predicting the behavior of a portion of land used for specific purposes, considering physical, economic and social aspects. It is also a tool for decision making and sustainable management of the soil resource considering its productive capacity. The objective of this work was to determine the suitability of land use, based on soil and climatic limitations and potentialities for cocoa cultivation. The project area was the Tumupasa region, in the municipality of San Buenaventura, second section of the Abel Iturralde province in the north of the department of La Paz, taking as a reference the data obtained by Miranda et al. (2020) on the physical-chemical analysis of soils. The procedure to carry out the research was: a) systematization of secondary and primary information, b) elaboration of the methodology and parameters for soil evaluation based on the systematized data, c) design and interpretation of results in maps and e) socialization of the results to local authorities and social organizations. According to the data obtained, the zone has areas that are moderately suitable, suitable and, to a lesser extent, unsuitable for cultivation, as evidenced mainly by the nutritional limitations of the soils in terms of nitrogen, organic matter and cation exchange capacity. However, an analysis of the agronomic characteristics of cocoa cultivation shows that these limitations are opportunities for the use of other types of production technologies, one of which is agroforestry systems, which provide the limiting nutrient (nitrogen), with the contribution of biomass from the accompanying species, without affecting the significant budget expenditure for producers.