Cooperatives' role on the income and technological information of farmers in the Western region of the state of Paraná – Brazil / Papel das cooperativas na renda e informação tecnológica dos agricultores da região Oeste do estado do Paraná – Brasil

Abstract

Western Paraná is an important agricultural and livestock region, where the cooperatives are an important differential aspect. Therefore, this study sought to identify the role of cooperatives on the income and technological information of farmers in Western Paraná. An exploratory/descriptive research using questionnaires answered by cooperative members was carried out and it was identified that most of the farms (58.2%) have between 10 and 50 ha and, 96.0% of the farmers carry out the annual crops cultivation as the main source of income. In addition to this, activities such as poultry farming (28.0%) and dairy cattle (19.0%) are also frequently developed. Most members (31.6%) consider that 100% of their income is linked to a cooperative and 95.0% of the members answered that the cooperative offers free courses and/or lectures to help them in their agricultural activities. Thus, the active cooperatives in the western region of Paraná guarantee profitability for small and medium-sized farmers, in addition to providing educational and information services by offering courses, lectures and professionals for technical assistance, thus improving the way the cooperative members develop their agricultural activities.