Local perceptions about rural abandonment drivers in the Colombian coffee region: insights from the city of Manizales

One of the most challenging processes in the rural world is the one related to rural abandonment. Rural abandonment has drawn attention worldwide, particularly in Europe and Asia without neglecting the importance in other regional contexts such as Latin America. Even though the literature about rura...

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Autores:
Muñoz-Riosa, Luis Alejandro
Vargas-Villegas, Jair
Suarez, Andres
Tipo de recurso:
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_816b
Fecha de publicación:
2020
Institución:
Corporación Universidad de la Costa
Repositorio:
REDICUC - Repositorio CUC
Idioma:
eng
OAI Identifier:
oai:repositorio.cuc.edu.co:11323/7605
Acceso en línea:
https://hdl.handle.net/11323/7605
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104361
https://repositorio.cuc.edu.co/
Palabra clave:
Attitudes towards countryside
Colombia
Factors influencing
Local perceptions
Farmland abandonment
Rights
openAccess
License
CC0 1.0 Universal
Description
Summary:One of the most challenging processes in the rural world is the one related to rural abandonment. Rural abandonment has drawn attention worldwide, particularly in Europe and Asia without neglecting the importance in other regional contexts such as Latin America. Even though the literature about rural abandonment drivers is vast, these pieces of literature do not identify the drivers perceived by the people who live in rural areas. Therefore, in this paper, we search for the understanding of the perceived drivers of rural abandonment in the Colombian coffee region. The specific objectives were: (1) to identify socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents; (2) to analyze local attitudes toward the countryside and farming, and (3) to identify perceived factors influencing rural abandonment. We surveyed 320 households in 12 villages around the city of Manizales (Colombia), and we conducted 27 key informant interviews, and three focal groups. Our results show that the rural population faces several socio-economic constraints; however, despite these constraints, most people are willing to remain in the countryside (85%). We discussed the variables affecting these preferences. Furthermore, we found several drivers of rural abandonment perceived by the sampled population, where they highlight the lack of State support and rural education. We concluded that our results help to deepen into the understanding of the contemporary rural dynamics related to countryside abandonment.