Associativism in the Peruvian countryside: Lessons from the 1969 agrarian reform and new trends

Abstract

The Peruvian agrarian reform of 1969 expropriated and collectivized the best land in the country. A total of 659 agricultural production cooperatives were established, where ownership was collective. The study presented here has been able to verify that practically all these economic units were dissolved by their workers/associates, through in a massive process of decollectivization and parceling of land. This massive dissolution was due to the lack of management capabilities and the strong desire for autonomy of the workers/partners.

In view of the new associativity in Peru - which cannot be postponed, given the high fragmentation of agricultural units - the main lesson of this experience is that it is essential to implement a criterion of merit in the constitution of associative units, hence the cooperativism that works is that of services, where the property is not collective, but distributed in individual plots. This involves “vertical” cooperation between small producers and elements with management capabilities, provision of services and facilitating access to markets. In this new context, agro-export companies can play a role of coordination with small producers.