Rural Agroindustry in Latin America: An Evaluation of the PRODAR Network

Since the early 1970s, IDRC has been supporting research projects in rural areas of developing countries. The objective of many of these projects has been to solve problems related to postharvest activities such as food handling, storage, processing, and use. In Latin America in the 1980s, several of these projects focused on developing a rural agroindustry as a way to reduce food losses and provide stable sources of food and income. Projects supported by other donors in the region linked up with the IDRC-supported projects to form a network, the Programa Cooperativo para al Desarrollo de la Agroindustria Rural (PRODAR, program for development of rural agroindustry).

This thorough and comprehensive publication challenges PRODAR and its supporting donors to strengthen the organization and more actively promote its participation in the development programs of the region. This book will be of value to a wide variety of readers — development planners, rural-development researchers, technical specialists, nongovernmental organizations, donors, and rural community associations.