It is the seat of Balzar Canton, and the agricultural center in northern Guayas.

Balzar is famous throughout Ecuador for the tall tree located at the end of the main road.

In 1964 a Danish agricultural engineer and pioneer in organic farming, bought the farm Hacienda Karen, located on the Rio Daule banks some miles from Balzar, from Shell director Hans Bach.

Channels were dug like the rice fields Dencker-Rasmussen had seen in Malaysia many years before, resulting in successful crops.

Rice had previously been brought in from outside and eventually became one of the important alternative staple diets for the region instead of the sweet potato and maize traditionally used.