Strengthening Collective Action and Sustainability of Traditional Farmers Organizations from an Indian Philosophical Perspective

Abstract

Developing countries like India are formulating various models to improve farmers' lives and agribusiness organizations' sustainability. However, most models focus on technological interventions in improving agriculture production, pest control and creating hybrid seeds that resist climate change to achieve agriculture sustainability. They ignore the role of the collective action approach to ensure the holistic development of farmers and the agriculture sector. There is significantly less attention given to indigenous ways of building collective action and organizational sustainability of the traditional Farmer's groups. Therefore, the researcher aims to explore the existing activities followed by traditional farmers to ensure collective action and the organizational sustainability of their groups. Additionally, the researcher maps its similarity to the Indian philosophical principles of Pancha Maha Yajna propagated by the Vedas. Pancha Maha Yajna describes five daily obligations or sacrifices an individual must make to respect and give back to society, nature, and the divine. Firstly, Brahma Yajna, which involves knowledge creation and updating. Secondly, Dev Yajna which is seeing divinity within and around. Third, Pitru Yajna, where we acknowledge and celebrate the contributions made by our ancestors. Fourth is Bhuta Yajna, which describes an individual's responsibility to respect and care for all living things, including people, animals, and plants. Lastly, Manushya Yajna is a service to society. A qualitative case study method was adopted to explore the evidence of applying these ancient principles in the daily activities of traditional farmers groups in India. A theoretical model to enhance collective action and organizational sustainability grounded on Vedic concepts was developed based on the evidence from the study. Thus, agribusiness organizations worldwide can implement the tenets of Pancha Maha yajnas to encourage ethical behaviour, social responsibility, collective action, and sustainability in their organizations to promote the social welfare of farmers and society.