COOPERATIVES AS A VEHICLE FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN NICARAGUA; AN ASSESSMENT FOR THE PURPOSE OF FOREIGN ASSISTANCE STRATEGY FORMULATION

It can be used by USAID, the government of Nicaragua, and other agencies. This framework could be used in the development of technically sound and viable projects utilizing the cooperative mechanism; it can be used to evaluate options and requests for assistance in the rural cooperative area as they are identified or received. The study is empirical and is based on first hand sources of information in the field and in Managua. It is comprehensive, and, with the exception of Atlantic zone activities, almost every cooperative vehicle and system operating in rural areas was contacted. The study is more reflective of real needs in the countryside than many other program building analytical efforts which focus on identified institutional or technical constraints. Other areas of discussion include: (l) government assisted agricultural and production-based cooperatives, (2) credit cooperatives associated with Fundacion de Desarrollo and Federacion de Cooperativas de Ahorro Y Credito Nicaragua, (3) private and voluntary agency cooperative efforts, and (4) public sector aspects relative to cooperatives.