SMALL PRODUCERS AND COOPERATIVISM IN COLOMBIA

To appreciate smallholder cooperatives and associations in Colombia, it is important to understand the contemporary characteristics of the rural economy, its importance nationally, and the major threats it faces. In this chapter, I present a vision of small producers in Colombia and the role that some significant cooperatives have played in small-farmer development. This chapter is based on the results of rural-sector studies carried out since 1980 by the School of Rural and Environmental Studies at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. The first part of the chapter focuses on the smallholder economy. The analysis draws primarily upon the work of Jaime