ACTORS OF THE TRANSITION? AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES AND SUSTAINABILITY IN ARGENTINE LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION

Emilia Ormaechea; Maricel Massera

Todos os Trabalhos

Trabalho

DOI

10.29327/9786527226680.1441861

Título do Trabalho

ACTORS OF THE TRANSITION? AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES AND SUSTAINABILITY IN ARGENTINE LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION

Autores

Emilia Ormaechea
Maricel Massera

Modalidade

IRSA - Congresso Mundial de Sociologia Rural (01/10/2025 a 20/01/2026)

Área temática

IRSA 31 - Cooperatives and Their Role for a Sustainable Rural Future

Data de Publicação

06/08/2026

País da Publicação

Brasil

Idioma da Publicação

pt-BR

Página do Trabalho

https://www.even3.com.br/anais/sober-irsa2026/1441861-actors-of-the-transition-agricultural-cooperatives-and-sustainability-in-argentine-livestock-production

ISBN

978-65-272-2668-0

Palavras-Chave

agricultural production, Argentina, institutional logics, meat industry

Resumo

In recent decades, agricultural cooperatives in Argentina’s Pampas region have undergone profound transformations in response to changes in agrifood systems, market dynamics, and growing environmental demands. These processes have reconfigured both their economic role and organizational structures, intensifying tensions between cooperative principles, competitiveness-oriented strategies, and sustainability requirements. This paper analyzes how agricultural cooperatives linked to livestock production engage with the transition toward sustainability, and how market, community, and environmental logics are articulated and contested within these organizations. Cooperatives can be conceptualized as institutions shaped by logics grounded in reciprocity and territorial embeddedness, operating in interaction with market rationalities. From this perspective, sustainability transitions can be understood as processes of institutional reconfiguration, in which tensions emerge between market competitiveness, internal democracy, and environmental sustainability. The study is situated in Argentina’s Pampas region, which concentrates the bulk of the country’s livestock production and slaughtering capacity. Using a qualitative multiple-case study design, the research combines semi-structured interviews with representatives of first- and second-tier cooperatives, public-sector technicians, and actors from the meat-processing industry, with the analysis of sustainability reports and social balance sheets. Preliminary findings show that cooperatives adopt selective and heterogeneous sustainability strategies—such as carbon footprint measurement or the use of renewable energy—generally conditioned by criteria of economic viability. Moreover, tensions emerge between the strategic orientations of managerial teams, the short-term priorities of boards of directors, and the productive practices of cooperative members, which constrains their capacity to exert sustained influence over sustainability transitions within the beef value chain.

Título do Evento: 16th World Congress of Rural Sociology and 64th Congress of the Brazilian Society of Rural Economics, Management and Sociology
Cidade do Evento: Porto Alegre
Título dos Anais do Evento: Anais do 64º Congresso da SOBER e XVI Congresso Mundial de Sociologia Rural (IRSA)
Nome da Editora: Even3
Meio de Divulgação: Meio Digital
DOI

Como citar

ORMAECHEA, Emilia; MASSERA, Maricel. ACTORS OF THE TRANSITION? AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES AND SUSTAINABILITY IN ARGENTINE LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION.. In: Anais do 64º Congresso da SOBER e XVI Congresso Mundial de Sociologia Rural (IRSA). Anais...Porto Alegre(RS) UFRGS, 2026. Disponível em: https//www.even3.com.br/anais/sober-irsa2026/1441861-ACTORS-OF-THE-TRANSITION-AGRICULTURAL-COOPERATIVES-AND-SUSTAINABILITY-IN-ARGENTINE-LIVESTOCK-PRODUCTION. Acesso em: 22/09/2026