‘Informal virtues’ and ‘formal vices’? Understanding the implications of producer organizations for pastoralists in India

Abstract

In this chapter we aim to better understand and conceptualize the effect of formalization on informal mechanisms of collective actions, with a focus on pastoralists in Gujarat, India. More specifically, we look at participation in milking activities of both pastoralists and dairy farmers as related to a number of conditions and attributes of the different communities and rules, as well as participant-related features. Through the analysis of the case study, this chapter highlights ways that pastoralists are being organized (formally and informally) within the dairy chain context. Particularly we analyse how intervention in the ordering of Indian dairy markets has produced tensions between formal and informal collective action, and examine the potential impacts on informal collective action of pastoralists. We conclude with a call for development practitioners and policy makers to reflect on the relationships between formal and informal collective action to support more inclusive policies and programmes.