Divulging

Electronic Journal of Biotechnology ISSN: 0717-3458 Vol. 9 No. 3, Issue of April 15, 2006
© 2006 by Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso -- Chile  
DOI: 10.2225/vol9-issue3-fulltext-27  
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Biotechnology in Argentine agriculture faces world-wide concentration

Liliana Varela*
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas
Instituto de Industria
Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento
Malvinas Argentinas
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Tel/fax: 54 11 44697552
E-mail: lvarela@ungs.edu.ar

Roberto Bisang
Instituto de Industria
Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento
Malvinas Argentinas
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Tel/fax: 54 11 44697552
E-mail: rbisang@ungs.edu.ar


*Corresponding author

Financial support: This work was supported by the Project on "Economic Impacts of Biotechnology on Agriculture and the Food and Health Industries in Argentina", Project PICT 2002 - Code 02-13063.

Keywords: internalization, local adaptation, mergers and acquisitions, multinationals.

Abbreviations:

M and A: mergers and acquisitions
R and D: research and development


Abstract   Reprint (PDF)

In the 1980s, the technical pattern of production in agriculture changed due to the increasing design of genetically modified plants. Modern biotechnology thrived on events requiring certain thresholds of scientific and technological skills as well as scale economies usually seen in developed countries. The mergers and acquisitions during the mid-1990s led to a world-wide oligopoly composed of very few agri-biotechnological mega-corporations and the literature discusses the impact of the mergers and acquisitions on the agriculture of developing countries with comparative advantages in agriculture. This paper analyzes the world-wide process of agri-biotechnological mega-corporation mergers and acquisitions as well as its impact and interrelationships with Argentine agriculture using information from primary and secondary sources. Conclusions refer to the set-backs of endogenous agri-biotechnological development due to world-wide concentration in developing countries with comparative advantage in agriculture.

 
Supported by UNESCO / MIRCEN network 
Home | Mail to Editor | Search | Archive