Continuity and renewal in the collective action of family cattle farmers of the northwest coast of Uruguay

Abstract

Uruguayan cattle raising has provided the image of independent cattle farmers, isolated in scattered exploitations, without organizations or groups. However, reality shows that it is common for family cattle farmers to be integrated into one or several forms of groups of diverse nature. The transformations that have occurred in recent years have challenged left Governments to find the right tools to apply policies and differential support to family cattle farmers, which allows them to improve their competitiveness and sustainability. One of the strategies is the promotion of associative processes as a transversal axis. This study identifies and classifies existing forms of collectives in the northwest coast of the country, analyzing the processes through which individuals are involved in collective action. The identification of four types of collective action is the result of the review of secondary sources and the interviews conducted. This reveals that, for family cattle farmers, moving from individual to collective action strengthens the processes of building social capital, generating a favorable environment for those involved to improve their economic and social conditions, and even modify their organizational "weakness" situation.