Social Advancement as a Critical Success Factor in a Model …
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6.1 The Agro-Industrial Agraria Cooperative
The proper choice of the cooperative was of fundamental importance given the
need for access to information and internal processes. The choice fell on the Agroindustrial Agraria Cooperative, which will be henceforth referred to in this paper as
Agraria, located in the district of Entre Rios, municipality of Guarapuava, State of
Parana, southern Brazil.
Agraria was created in 1951 by immigrants of Germanic origin, known as Danube
Swabians. These people inhabited the south-eastern region of Europe (ex-Yugoslavia,
Romania, and Hungary) since the eighteenth century. After World War II, an immigration project of 500 families was conceived to set up an agricultural cooperative in
Brazil, supported by the humanitarian institution Aid Switzerland for Europe. At the
time, the Brazilian Government was interested in developing wheat farming in the
country, which was incipient. The arrival of these settlers would be a way to promote
wheat cultivation in Brazil (Agrária 2019a).
The early years were not easy for these settlers. There were many difficulties in
cultural adaptation and adaptation to the soil and climate conditions of the Entre
Rios region. Infrastructure conditions were deficient, with the need to build houses,
schools, churches. There were problems with crop frustration due to weather and
soil acidity, especially in wheat crops.
According to Gärtner and Pires (2011), the problems faced by the pioneers during
the first years of colonization led, in the sixties decade, to the evasion of 50% of
the families, who eventually returned to Europe or looked for other opportunities in
Brazilian cities, in the process of industrialization and absorption of labor.
Agraria went through several phases, with importance for almost thirty years of
management of Mr. Mathias Leh, who stood out as a leader and had the vision to
promote the capitalization of the Cooperative, to carry out the agricultural expansion
project of the members and the investments in agro-industries by the cooperative.
There were several forms of capitalization used by the cooperative throughout its
existence, and the predominant currently is the appropriation of financial surpluses
internally generated by the own businesses operated by Agraria.
One way or another, the capitalization has always been made possible by
some individual economic sacrifice of the members, seeking some future collective
economic benefit. An emblematic example was the capitalization carried out under
Mr. Mathias Leh’s management, provided by the payment of a specified amount
for each ton of fertilizer supplied to the members, which allowed Agraria financial
capacity to acquire new areas of land and carry out land reform in the colonies. The
member who acquired 100 hectares had to resell the smaller area to the neighbor.
Everyone earned and grew because this land reform enabled the emergence of a
substantial class of medium farmers that has sustained the cooperative until today
(Teixeira 2010).
Agraria’s membership is made up of 650 members, of which 461 are active
(Agrária 2019b). Inactive members are, for the most part, older farmers, already
retired, but still associated with the cooperative. It is a cooperative with a relatively
29
6.1 The Agro-Industrial Agraria Cooperative
The proper choice of the cooperative was of fundamental importance given the
need for access to information and internal processes. The choice fell on the Agroindustrial Agraria Cooperative, which will be henceforth referred to in this paper as
Agraria, located in the district of Entre Rios, municipality of Guarapuava, State of
Parana, southern Brazil.
Agraria was created in 1951 by immigrants of Germanic origin, known as Danube
Swabians. These people inhabited the south-eastern region of Europe (ex-Yugoslavia,
Romania, and Hungary) since the eighteenth century. After World War II, an immigration project of 500 families was conceived to set up an agricultural cooperative in
Brazil, supported by the humanitarian institution Aid Switzerland for Europe. At the
time, the Brazilian Government was interested in developing wheat farming in the
country, which was incipient. The arrival of these settlers would be a way to promote
wheat cultivation in Brazil (Agrária 2019a).
The early years were not easy for these settlers. There were many difficulties in
cultural adaptation and adaptation to the soil and climate conditions of the Entre
Rios region. Infrastructure conditions were deficient, with the need to build houses,
schools, churches. There were problems with crop frustration due to weather and
soil acidity, especially in wheat crops.
According to Gärtner and Pires (2011), the problems faced by the pioneers during
the first years of colonization led, in the sixties decade, to the evasion of 50% of
the families, who eventually returned to Europe or looked for other opportunities in
Brazilian cities, in the process of industrialization and absorption of labor.
Agraria went through several phases, with importance for almost thirty years of
management of Mr. Mathias Leh, who stood out as a leader and had the vision to
promote the capitalization of the Cooperative, to carry out the agricultural expansion
project of the members and the investments in agro-industries by the cooperative.
There were several forms of capitalization used by the cooperative throughout its
existence, and the predominant currently is the appropriation of financial surpluses
internally generated by the own businesses operated by Agraria.
One way or another, the capitalization has always been made possible by
some individual economic sacrifice of the members, seeking some future collective
economic benefit. An emblematic example was the capitalization carried out under
Mr. Mathias Leh’s management, provided by the payment of a specified amount
for each ton of fertilizer supplied to the members, which allowed Agraria financial
capacity to acquire new areas of land and carry out land reform in the colonies. The
member who acquired 100 hectares had to resell the smaller area to the neighbor.
Everyone earned and grew because this land reform enabled the emergence of a
substantial class of medium farmers that has sustained the cooperative until today
(Teixeira 2010).
Agraria’s membership is made up of 650 members, of which 461 are active
(Agrária 2019b). Inactive members are, for the most part, older farmers, already
retired, but still associated with the cooperative. It is a cooperative with a relatively