Colombian Friendship Groups: Constraints on a Rural Development Acquisition System

The most active and effective agricultural extension service in Colombia is the National Federation of Coffee Growers (FEDERACAFE). Friendship groups, collective gatherings of the rural farmer, have been incorporated into the communicative process between the farmer and FEDERACAFE to accelerate the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of developing areas 1981-04, Vol.15 (3), p.457-470
Main Author: Adelman, Alan H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acquisition/Acquisitions/Acquisitive/ Acquisitiveness
Agricultural
Agricultural cooperatives
Agricultural extension
Coffee industry
Collective farms
Colombia
Colombia/Colombian
Crop economics
Crop production
Crop science
Crops
Development
Development/Developments
Extension education
Farmers
Friend/Friends/Friendship
Friendship
Group/Groups/Grouping/Groupism
Organizational communication
Rural (see also Ru/Ur)
Rural development
Social systems
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Summary:The most active and effective agricultural extension service in Colombia is the National Federation of Coffee Growers (FEDERACAFE). Friendship groups, collective gatherings of the rural farmer, have been incorporated into the communicative process between the farmer and FEDERACAFE to accelerate the education and technological advancement of the small coffee bean farmer. Increased community dialogue and responsibility is sought, as well as the farmer's liberation from the extension agent. Friendship groups foster: 1. hands-on experience with innovative farming methods, 2. more and better channels of communication, and 3. group approval for change. Group feedback, which is vital to the educational program, is not optimal in the friendship group meetings. Also, the government's increased emphasis on productivity has proved a limiting factor to the groups and their autonomy. FEDERACAFE as an institution has acquired a degree of elitism, as most of its members are neither farmers nor involved in the coffee industry at any but the highest levels. Friendship groups may even depress development, as they are a product of the social structure of the coffee zone and FEDERACAFE. National production policies will have to change if friendship groups are to be successful.
ISSN:0022-037X
1548-2278