The feria system for marketing fresh produce in Costa Rica : the role of the government as studied in San Jose and San Isidro

Ferias are an important part of the agricultural marketing system in Costa Rica. Ferias are open-air, but regulated, markets which occur every weekend. The feria offers small and middle-scale producers the opportunity to sell directly to urban consumers and, at the same time, exposes them to urban culture and services.

The major objective of this research is to analyze and evaluate the role of the Costa Rican government in this regulated and controlled market activity. ferias at different cities have been functioning for more than a decade without a true evaluation of their impact on producers.

Four ferias were selected for study as examples of the feria system: the ferias of Zapote, Desamparados and Plaza Viquez, from the largest urban area, and San Isidro from the countryside. Two questionnaires were developed. The first was administered to producers and the second to government authorities responsible for administration, regulation, and control of the producer ferias. One hundred and fifty smallscale farmers and ten authorities were surveyed in October 1990.

The results show that although from a general point of view the ferias have been successful, producers and authorities agree that they face several problems. Lack of services and transportation are the major problems according to producers, and violations of feria regulations, shared responsibilities between different agencies, and lack of personnel are the principal problems from the perspective of government officials. Ferias may become stagnated because they are organized from an old and weak set of regulations. A restructuring of the organizational framework of the feria is proposed to avoid the disappearance of small farmers from the ferias, and to avoid the evolution of producer ferias to free markets.