Model of the social game associated to the production of potato seeds in a Venezuelan region 1.4.0
Like many regions of the world, in Latinamerica, and in particular in Venezuela, consumption and production of potatoes (and potato seeds) is highly important. The region around Mucuchíes town in Venezuela concentrates the highest national production of potato seeds. This work aims at representing the (social) game of power around the potato seeds in this region. Such a game involves not only private entities but also the Venezuelan State, which seems to have contradictory strategies and actions; e.g., on one side, it favors research and production of national potato seeds; and, on the other side, it supports potato seeds importation, part of which frequently is contaminated, infecting local lands. Importation of foreign potato seeds discourages national production. We built a computational model of that social game, by using the simulation platform SocLab. The model is aimed at understanding better the game of power (e.g., conflicts and convergence of actors), and to evaluate the potential (power) of some actors (e.g., the Venezuela State) to significantly increase national potato seeds production. The attitude e identification of the actors respect to the national system of production of potato seeds seems to be a critical factor that makes difficult the creation of a good (autochthonous) national system of production of potato seeds.