Internal Structure, Role Of The Government And Efficiency In The Use Of Resources In Semi-Collective Production Cooperative Organizations: The Case Of The Asentamientos Campesinos In Panama

This paper has been elaborated in an effort to set the basis for a research on a semi-collective production cooperative program in Panama. Three aspects are considered to be important when studying the program: the internal organization of the semi-collective cooperatives to be analyzed; the role of the government in promoting and supporting the program; and the efficiency in the use of resources that the new type of agricultural organization will bring. Thus, these are the elements on which the present proposal emphasizes. A general explanation of the program to be analyzed is presented in Chapter II, section C. Due to some difficulties regarding the sources of information, a very detailed explanation about the nature of the program is not included in the proposal. The omitted information is mostly related to the specific way in which the semi-collective cooperatives are internally organized and the specific governmental policies regarding the program. Therefore, the questionnaires presented in this proposal are considered to be tentative and subject to modification once a complete and detailed picture of all the aspects of the program is obtained. The questionnaires presented at this time are based, mainly, on the ideas and facts obtained through the overall Latin American experience presented in Chapter I.