Associatives and cooperativism agrarian in Trás-os-montes and Alto douro, Portugal

Abstract

This article presents a reflection on the results of a researchwhose central objective was to trace a picture of agrarian cooperativism and associativism in Trás-os-Montes and Alto-Douro (TMAD), region of the interior North of Portugal, during the process of modernization of Portuguese agriculture, in the scope of the adhesion of Portugal to the European Union (EU) and to the Common Agricultural Politics (CAP). With this study we sought to clarify the role of associations and agrarian cooperatives in the development of TMAD agriculture, highlighting its central role in the use and application of scientific and technological knowledge to farmers’ activities, and in the constant informative support related to the fulfillment of European norms of production and commercialization. We verified that the main weakness of this movement lie in the weak associative and cooperative spirit of the wide majority of associates and in the incapacity of these organizations to become active actors in the definition of national and European rural development policies. We also verified the enormous social importance of these organizations in the accompaniment and support of a very aged population, little instructed and many times suffering from some loneliness. Finally, we verified that the technicians (extension agents) of these organizations are those who play the most important role in the process of agricultural development.