AT least nine people have died and up to 95 been injured in protests by Bolivian farmers against US-inspired plans to restrict the growth of coca, the raw material for cocaine.

For domestic consumption, corn, wheat, and potatoes are the crops of choice of Bolivian farmers.

LEAD: In a good year, a Bolivian farmer may net about $1,500 from the coca leaves he can grow on a hectare of land.

The reasons are worth pondering as the Bush In a good year, a Bolivian farmer may net about $1,500 from the coca leaves he can grow on a hectare of land.

And Bolivian farmers have so far resisted the more exotic choices, like macadamia nuts, that the U.S. Government is pushing.

Under a pilot program promoted as a considerable success, the United States has paid a few Bolivian farmers not to grow coca - a new twist on the old farm-subsidy system here at home.

Bolivian farmers rushed to grow coca in the 1980s as its price climbed and the economy collapsed.

Produce usually was marketed to truckers, the most common marketing outlet for Bolivian farmers, or was sold at large agricultural fairs, an Inca custom.

Because of their isolation and lack of technical support, Bolivian farmers used less fertilizer, about two kilograms per hectare, than any other country in the Western Hemisphere.

Dr. Thompson was helping set up a kind of agricultural extension service to train Bolivian farmers in soil conservation and marketing.