La pastorizia sarda di fronte al mercato globale. Ristrutturazione della filiera lattiero-casearia e strategie di ancoraggio al locale

The article investigates the functioning of the Sardinian sheep dairy system as part of a global value chain whose components are mostly dependent on milk prices’ fluctuations in the global market. The low milk profitability is due to the mono-production of Pecorino Romano, a low-cost cheese destined to a mass market, highly standardized, easy to imitate and subject to price volatility. Moreover, in the sheep dairy chain, processing and food retailing industries have a monopolistic role and cause a squeeze of the profit margins of the local shepherds. In this framework, we analyze the resilience strategies of the local agro-pastoral system, based on traditional and new every-day practices to contrast the growing dependency of the external outputs and the global market, anchoring the farm household income to the territory. The article presents the results of a qualitative research based on over 80 in-depth interviews (mainly addressed to the shepherds) and ethnographic observation.