Résumé
The production of quinoa in the Bolivian Altiplano: between crisis and innovations. The Bolivian Altiplano has become the biggest exporter of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) in the world. In the last forty years, communities have evolved from subsistence agriculture to a commercial production for exportation. The producers have carried out technical innovations, by entering mechanization into their production system, as well as social innovations, both at the activities and migration to ensure their production system. But the success of this region in getting into the globalization should not hide changes and possible blockades that question the durability of the new production system and at the same time land conflicts become common. In a context of a growing market, the producers of quinoa start wondering about the way to restructure and reinvent, by innovative actions, their production system, but also their social organization which is driven by exogenous and uncertain factors such as market or climatic change. This innovative phase is necessary to perpetuate production and ensure incomes for the population. It demands cooperation between different actors which have sometimes divergent interests. This communication offers an overview of the main problems which appeared when the production system changed from a home consumption into an exportation production system. It analyses the interactions between the producers of quinoa and their environment from the point of view of social and technical innovation.