Small-scale farmers under socialist governments: Venezuela and the ALBA People’s Trade Agreement

The Bolivarian Alliance for Our Americas People’s Trade Agreement (ALBA-PTA), was established between Venezuela and Cuba in 2004 and now incorporates several other Latin American countries. This paper examines some of the social, economic, political and cultural aspects of ALBA-PTA in relation to small farmers’ agency. Building on insights provided by a case study of Venezuela and the ALBA experience in Bolivia and Nicaragua, it assesses whether small-scale farmers in ALBA countries are benefiting from policies or public and private institutional arrangements that empower them to enter and stay in markets; what opportunities exist for them to improve or exercise their individual and collective agency and to make better-informed choices about the markets in which they operate, and whether and how they influence policies.

Hivos/IIED