Innovators and Innovations in the Agricultural Sector in the Province of Santa Fe, Argentina

Julio Jorge Elias and Agustin Elias Forzani

No 4797, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers from Asociación Argentina de Economía Política

Abstract: The agricultural sector in Argentina has undergone a profound transformation over the past fifty years, driven by a series of innovations aimed at enhancing productivity and quality. This paper focuses on the Province of Santa Fe, one of Argentina’s main agricultural regions, and examines how innovation unfolded through the case of Federico Trucco, CEO of Bioceres, and the institutional networks that supported this process, particularly the Argentine No-Till Farmers Association (AAPRESID). Drawing on David Galenson’s economic approach to creativity, which distinguishes between conceptual and experimental innovators, we analyze Trucco’s trajectory, his investment in human capital, and the innovations he has led, notably the development of HB4 technology, the first commercially available GMO wheat in the world. Our findings highlight the role innovators and, more broadly, the importance of entrepreneurial talent, risk-taking, and institutional networks in fostering agricultural transformation. The case of Santa Fe illustrates that even in a traditional sector like agriculture, innovation can thrive and position a region at the global frontier.

JEL-codes: O31 O32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 29 pages
Date: 2025-12
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://aaep.org.ar/works/works2025/4797.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aep:anales:4797

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers from Asociación Argentina de Economía Política Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Juan Manuel Quintero ().