Modelo multicriterio para el análisis de alternativas de financiamiento de productores de arroz en el Estado Portuguesa, Venezuela

agricultural activity is characterized by an intensive use of capital and a strong dependence upon external financing. restricted credit access, due to scarcity of resources and lack of guarantees, affects seriously agricultural productivity and farm income. this work analyses the main farm credit sources by means of a multicriteria model aimed to represent the short-run financing behavior of rice farmers in the portuguesa state (venezuela). a compromise programming approach is used to solve the model, which is capable of integrate the diversity of objectives of agricultural producers. accordingly, besides the classical objectives of profit maximisation and risk minimisation, we consider the fulfilment of farmers？ preferences with regard to credit sources. model application to a farm typology depending on financing sources (conservative, intermediate and innovative) has shown a significant conflict between farmers？ objectives, the intermediate farm type obtaining the best results. considering farmers？ preferences with regard to credit sources, farm income decreases but model results become closer to observed ones. besides the reference scenario, alternative scenarios influencing either self-financing (sequential sowing) or external financing (seasonal credit) have been explored. according to model results, a greater flexibility in the financing conditions of the farms improves their economic performance.