Organizational Model Design for Small Coffee Farmers in the Municipality of Viotá - Colombia Case Study: Creo en el Agro

• Published in: Systemic practice and action research Vol. 35; no. 1; pp. 33 - 53
• Main Authors: Velásquez-Rodríguez, Camilo, Payán-Durán, Luisa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.02.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Business and Management; Case studies; Methodology of the Social Sciences; Organization; Original Research; Participatory research; Rural areas; Sociology; Colombia; Peace agreement; Coffee; Participatory action research; Armed conflict; Rural organizations; Systemic approach
• ISSN: 1094-429X; 1573-9295
• DOI: 10.1007/s11213-021-09557-w

An organizational design proposal is made for Creo en el Agro, an organization made up of small coffee growers who were victims of the armed conflict in the municipality of Viotá-Colombia, with internal problems such as low capacity to manage clients, absence of an organizational structure, lack of trust and external problems such as limited generational relay and lack of motivation to work as a team, affecting their continuity in the market. These problems are present in more rural organizations limiting the opportunities for economic development of the communities. The Viability Planning-VIPLAN methodology was used, along with the Viable System Model (VSM) and Participatory Action Research tools to identify limiting factors that influence the development of rural organizations. Among the results, the influence of the armed conflict on the loss of confidence in the communities was evident and critical factors were identified that intervene in the low capacity to create and sustain rural organizations. This document focuses on the importance of designing organizations that involve rural communities from their construction and implementation through Participatory Action Research; it proposes functional areas and new systems for Creo en el Agro such as the generation of producer networks, agrotourism, agro-workshops to publicize the offer to citizens, value-added agricultural products and investments on agriculture; finally, it proposes strategies for the generation of trust in zones of armed conflict and the permanence of young people in the rural environment.