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Hershey Foods, cocoa, and Belize: A collaborative model for third world development
Author(s) -
Gaarder Robert,
McCommon Carolyn
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
public administration and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.574
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1099-162X
pISSN - 0271-2075
DOI - 10.1002/pad.4230100309
Subject(s) - multinational corporation , economic growth , agriculture , developing country , private sector , corporation , agency (philosophy) , government (linguistics) , international development , christian ministry , business , political science , geography , economics , sociology , finance , social science , linguistics , philosophy , archaeology , law
The following article describes a rare case of a U.S. multinational collaborating with the public sector on an economic development project. The project took place in Belize and directly addressed the development priorities of this Central American country. From 1984 until 1987, Hershey Foods Corporation was a co‐operative partner with the Belizean Ministry of Agriculture in the Belize Accelerated Cocoa Production Project aimed at introducing the latest cocoa production methods to local farmers. Other key participants in the project included the development arm of the United States Government—the Agency for International Development—and two private voluntary organizations: the Pan American Development Foundation and Volunteers in Technical Assistance. This article presents the case for more configurations like this one in future development projects. The article is divided into the following sections: the need for a private sector role in development, background on the Belize case, a model for developing collaborative relationships, and the benefits received by the partners as a result of their collaboration on this project.