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Value chainFood Basket of the Future (“PI-5”)AppliedTechnological-Organizational-InstitutionalAgroindustryClimate smart agriculture
2026
ActiveLupinus sp., known in the Andes as tarwi or chocho, is a legume whose grain reaches 45% protein, a range comparable to soybean, and which is naturally biofortified in iron, zinc, and copper. It is grown by family farming communities in the high Andes of Bolivia and Ecuador, where yields stay below one ton per hectare, long cycles leave the harvest exposed to frost and drought, and traditional debittering, needed to strip out the alkaloids before the grain can be eaten, draws close to 77 liters of water per kilogram with no check to confirm the result.
The project works on three connected fronts. In the field it takes on resilient production through early-maturing ecotypes selected from the material producers themselves conserve, inoculation with native Rhizobium sp., and biologicals made from crop residues. In processing it validates eco-efficient debittering protocols, a rapid alkaloid test, and standardized milling to secure the safety of the grain. Resting on both fronts is a digital layer, combining agroclimatic early warning with an open-access platform that links local knowledge to research, under a gender focus.
The solution is a technology package that covers both the field and the processing plant. On the production side it brings together early-maturing ecotypes with short cycles of 135 to 150 days, selected so that harvest comes ahead of frosts and dry spells, along with seed inoculation using native Rhizobium sp. and biologicals made from the crop's own residues, which replace part of the synthetic fertilizer. On the processing side it adds a thermal-chemical debittering protocol that cuts water use compared with traditional running-water washing, the Lugol method as a rapid quality control test confirming that alkaloids have been removed from the grain, and standardized milling that delivers flour with a particle size of 120 micrometers, suitable for baking and beverages. An agroclimatic early warning system and an open-access digital platform complete the package.
On the ground, the project should validate four early-maturing ecotypes through twelve multi-environment trials run over two growing seasons on the Bolivian highlands and in the province of Bolívar, Ecuador, and establish a protocol for inoculation with native Rhizobium sp. and liquid biofertilizer that trims synthetic fertilizer use by 40% with no agronomically meaningful yield penalty. The grain yield committed starts at 0.60 t/ha and reaches 1.13 t/ha at closing. In the plant, eco-efficient debittering should cut roughly a third off the 76.8 liters of water per kilogram that traditional washing demands, with the Lugol method validated as a rapid alkaloid check; from there follow a flour line standardized at 120 micrometers and food prototypes assessed in sensory testing, under an approach that treats grain safety and consumer health as a single system.
On the digital side, agroclimatic early warning should issue frost alerts at least 18 hours ahead with accuracy above 85%, with 1,000 registered producers and 30 technicians trained to run it, while the open-access platform will hold at least twelve knowledge products and forty recipes of international reach. Two regional culinary innovation fairs, drawing more than 1,400 participants, will document traditional preparations alongside new ones. Protocols, technical sheets, and verification tools will be consolidated as freely available regional public goods, with a technology readiness gain from level 5 to level 7.
The project will directly benefit 2,100 people in the Andes of Bolivia and Ecuador: 2,050 small and medium producers, men, women, and young people organized in producer associations, who will take part in validating results in the field, and 50 professionals and scientists trained in adaptive breeding and technological innovation. Among them, 210 producers will be trained across six farmer field schools, with women expected to account for 42% of participants; 95 women and 82 young people will attend a gender-focused leadership school; 30 technicians will be trained to operate the early warning system and the digital platform; and nine undergraduate thesis students will carry out their research within the project. Indirectly, the initiative will reach 6,000 people, including rural families, small and medium agro-industrial enterprises, and other value chain actors who stand to gain from standardized processes. Regionally, the public goods produced have a potential reach of more than 100,000 farming families.
This project actively contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, promoting more equitable, resilient, and sustainable regional development.
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