AGRIBUSINESS EXECUTIVE EDUCATION AND KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE: NEW MECHANISMS OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT INVOLVING THE UNIVERSITY, PRIVATE FIRM STAKEHOLDERS AND PUBLIC SECTOR

M. Jatib et al. / The International Food and Agribusiness Management Review Vol 5 Iss 3 2003

The main institutional innovations that favoured a change of paradigm and the
development of the sector were³:

• A structural change in Government: Society relations (State administrative
reform, privatisation, deregulation of the market having an impact on
production drivers, goods and services, opening up of the economy and
reinsertion in the world market).

• A stabilisation plan to check hyperinflation (Convertibility Law).

Institutional change modified relations between the government and society,
removed restrictions limiting the manifestation of competitive advantages in the
Argentine agrifood sector⁴, and became a launching platform to build competitive
advantages. This process is defined as “the second pampas revolution”⁵ aimed at
improving competitiveness in the sector. Institutional innovation was accompanied
by investment in agroindustrial organisations, giving rise to the highest level of
world competitiveness in many sectors.

The outcome is self-evident. Argentina became

• First world exporter of oil and sunflower and soya by-products

• First fresh and industrialised lemon exporter and pear exporter

• Second world exporter of corn, soya by-products and honey

• Third world producer of soya and first world sunflower producer

• Cereal and oilseed production trebled

• Food quality and security issues were addressed

• The foot and mouth disease was eradicated following vaccination

Institutional and organisational innovations were leveraged by the introduction of
technological innovations. The opening up of the markets enabled Argentina to
avail itself of state-of-the-art technology from developed countries. The introduction
of the No Till system at an earlier stage resulted in more efficient production. With
the advent of GM soya combined with the best technology available in No Till
systems and the deregulation of the glyphosate patent in Argentina, soya
production boomed. Additionally, the installation of high-tech oil and meal
manufacturing plants transformed this sector into the most competitive sector of
the agrifood system.

In this new scenario the largest agrifood firms began to train their staff in
marketing, planning, management and quality techniques to rise to the level of
competing countries. In the absence of local master's courses in Agribusiness, firms
were forced to send their management staff abroad for specialised training. A
similar void was identified in the public sector that, out of misinformation, did not
provide an adequate solution to further competitiveness in the agrifood sector. That

³ Cetrangolo & Ordonez; 1999

⁴ Cetrangolo & Ordonez; 1999

⁵ Castro 1998

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