Agricultural Bio-Inputs as an Innovative Area of Opportunity for Agro-Industrial Growth in Developing Countries: Lessons from Argentina

Gabriel da Silva Medina, Rosana Rotondo and Gustavo Rubén Rodríguez ()
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Gabriel da Silva Medina: Faculty of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine, University of Brasília, Brasilia 70910-900, Brazil
Rosana Rotondo: Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, National University of Rosario, Rosario S2125ZAA, Argentina
Gustavo Rubén Rodríguez: Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, National University of Rosario, Rosario S2125ZAA, Argentina

World, 2023, vol. 4, issue 4, 1-17

Abstract: Technology-based innovations in the bio-economy are expected to provide new market opportunities for agro-industrial growth in developing countries. This study explores how domestic entrepreneurs have been benefiting from the growing global demand for sustainable agribusiness by establishing themselves in the agricultural bio-inputs sector. Aiming to explore how developing countries can build agro-industrial capabilities that go beyond farming, a case study was conducted in Argentina giving the country’s large domestic market for agricultural inputs. The assessment was based on official data and a survey conducted with a sample of 14 Argentinean companies. Results revealed a growing number of domestic companies in the bio-inputs market, which accounted for 74% of the total number of companies by 2022. Contextual aspects that favored domestic players include private investments by local entrepreneurs, the use of locally available technologies, support from public innovation centers and assertive market strategies. Principal component analysis revealed different business models, which include companies focusing on the development of new products, companies with professional industrial plants for large-scale production and companies with a strong marketing component reaching out to farmers. The global growth of sustainable bio-based agricultural production offers areas of opportunities for domestic investments in cleaner agro-industrial sectors that go beyond the primary production of commodities and can build industrial capabilities in developing countries.

Keywords: entrepreneurship; bio-economy; industrial biotechnology; agro-industrial development; sustainable business models; innovation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G15 G17 G18 L21 L22 L25 L26 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 R51 R52 R58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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