ERIC Number: EJ939192
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1389-224X
EISSN: N/A
Characterization of a Collective Action between Farmers' Organizations and Institutions in an Innovative Process to Face Liberalization in Costa Rica
Faure, Guy
Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, v10 n3 p121-131 2004
In Northern Costa Rica, agricultural production conditions change very rapidly due to public policies that encourage the exportation of new crops according to the liberalization process imposed by the international context. For many years, farmers' organizations at the local, regional and national levels have taken initiatives to respond to this new context and develop relationships with institutions (the Ministry of Agriculture, national universities, NGOs, international agencies, the private sector) promoting innovations and attaining better access to information, training and financial resources. An action-research program, "Aid to Farmer's Organization of Northern Costa Rica," contributes to the strengthening of farmers' organizations and tries to induce change dynamics through the elaboration of a shared vision of peasant agriculture implying the production of safe food, the protection of natural resources, the development of qualified local employment and the defense of the rural culture. The present paper will analyze the dynamics of such a collective action. Action is structured around various activities such as the exchange of experiences between farmers' organizations, the elaboration of a common vision on the future of family agriculture between different actors, the training of the members and leaders of organizations and the design and implementation of innovative project. This collective action induces the construction of new and useful knowledge, changes in the relationships between the actors, the implementation of new institutional mechanisms and the development of new rules inside and outside the organizations. (Contains 1 figure, 2 boxes, and 10 notes.)
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Group Behavior, Agricultural Occupations, Organizations (Groups), Agriculture, Action Research
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Costa Rica
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A