Alva Review-Courier -

CARACOLLO, Bolivia (AP) — Last year, the flowering quinoa plants painted Florencio Tola's farmlands in vibrant sepia and ochre tones.

But this season, all that could be seen was the straw color of dried-out stalks that never germinated amid Bolivia's worst drought in 30 years. Nearby a collection of scrawny cows, with their ribs protruding and flaccid udders, grazed on what little vegetation could be found on the sere ground.

"It's as if I had never sown anything," said Tola, 60, who like thousands of other farmers planted his quinoa in October ahead of the rainy season that usually runs throu...