College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics

Non-AFRE Co-Principle Investigators: Charles Slater - Co-Director, Mark Doctoroff, Don Taylor, Ron Mason, Marketing and Transportation Dept,: Vince Farace, Communication Dept, MSU. Donald Larson, Joe Weiss

Project Name:           Market Processes in the Recife Area of Northeast Brazil - LAMP Country Study*
Donor:                        Agency for International Development
Contract No:              AID/LA-364 and AID/CSD-786
Account No:               71-2035
Location:                   Recife, Brazil
Duration:                    1966 -1967
Budget:                       A portion of the LAMP Summary budget

Documents:                (Click here to view) 

Project Goals:           To describe and analyze the existing marketing system in Northeast Brazil as a basis for formulating recommendations for improvements that would contribute to regional development goals; to contribute to a more useful conceptualization of market processes in economic development.

Project Plans/Objectives:

• To conduct a diagnostic study of the existing marketing system for food, selected agricultural products, farm inputs, and selected locally produced consumer goods.
• To formulate recommendations for improvements in the marketing system based upon the diagnostic studies.
• To develop systematic procedures for evaluating selected potential marketing reforms and arriving at policy decisions.
• To evaluate hypotheses and draw conclusions about the role of marketing in economic development.
• To provide research training for the Brazilian and MSU project staff.

Cooperating Institutions: The Brazilian Department of Agriculture and Supply, Centrais de Abastecimento do Nordeste SA (CANESA), Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Banco do Nordeste do Brasil SA, Fundacao para o Desenvolvimento Industrial do Nordeste (FUNDINOR), Superintendencia Nacional do Abastecimento (SUNAB), Faculdade de Ciencias Economicas da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Conselho de Desenvolvimento de Pernambuco (CODEPE), and the Northeast Brazil Economic Development Agency (SUDENE).

Project Summary: This field research was conducted by a joint task force organized under a memorandum of agreement linking MSU with SUDENE (the Northeast Brazil Economic Development Agency) with concurrence and logistical support from AID/Brazil. The geographic focus of the study was narrowed to Recife and the rural area that serves as a primary source of locally produced agricultural products. Five commodities were selected for detailed investigation in the rural areas. Rice, beans, and manioc were selected as staple food items that are widely consumed throughout the Northeast and also rank high as sources of farm income. Milk was taken because of its potential importance in the improvement of nutrition, especially among children. Available information also indicated that the urban milk distribution system was a major obstacle to expanded consumption. The fifth commodity taken was cotton, which is one of the two most important agricultural crops in the Northeast, the other being sugar.

There were five phases of work. The first was the preliminary investigations, including review of previous studies, interviews with public officials in agencies involved in marketing, direct observation and detailed interviews with market participants, and collection and examination of secondary data. These activities provided a basis for a more detailed plan of work. Phase Two was the planning and execution of detailed structured interviews with systematic samples of market participants. These included consumers and retailers-wholesalers in Recife, farmers in the Recife foodshed, farm input distributors, commodity assemblers, and industries. Other phases were organized to meet the objectives set forth above.

Documents From/About This Project:

• Market Processes in the Recife Area of Northeast Brazil. 1970.  By Charles Slater, Harold Riley, Vince Farace, Kelly Harrison, Fernando Neves, Alan Bogalay, Mark Doctoroff, Donald Larson, Robert Nason, and Thomas Webb
• Processos de Mercado no Recife área do Nordeste Brasileiro. 1970. Por By Charles Slater, Harold Riley, Vince Farace, Kelly Harrison, Fernando Neves, Alan Bogalay, Mark Doctoroff, Donald Larson, Robert Nason, y Thomas Webb

*This description is adapted from work by Nancy E. Horn, an MSU alumnus from the Anthropology Department, published in 1985 “A Project History of Michigan State University’s Participation in International Development for the period 1951 – 1985”.  See AFRE Emeritus Faculty - Acknowledgements