6/7/23 00:00

Agri-food Systems Innovation: Could it Remain the Same as it has been for the Past 60 Years?

The processes that generate all new technology in agriculture are 'under review'. Environmental impact, climate change, traceability and digital technologies are some of the factors challenging innovation models that are demanding a change after World War

The way of innovating and developing new technologies in the agricultural sector in Latin America (LA) has evolved in recent years. After the Second World War, when many of the European food producing countries were devastated, the aim of all innovation and development was increasing the food supply by increasing productivity by the implementation of genetic improvement and accompanying agricultural practices, a process that later became known as the Green Revolution. 

According to a report of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), this was largely possible due to the collaboration of the National Agricultural Research Institutes (INIAs) such as INTA in Argentina and international centers, which organized scientific and technological activities in order to pursue common goals, and provided the institutional framework for the development of technologies that could be adopted by producers. As a result, LA improved its food security and increased its share of the world’s agricultural production, becoming one of the most important net food exporting regions.

However, in recent years, there have been substantial changes in the agricultural sector, and this must necessarily be reflected in the way of innovating. According to this report, these changes occurred in several aspects. 

On the one hand, the concept of “agri-food systems”, which is more complex than the agriculture system, was consolidated. This new system incorporates new players and needs related to non-agricultural areas and environmental and nutritional concerns throughout the chains under concepts such as the "farm to fork" concept developed and promoted by the European Union.

On the other hand, climate change threatens productivity worldwide: offsetting projected crop yield losses in this context between 2006 and 2050 would require R&D investments for adjustments between $187 billion and $1,384 billion. Today, new technologies need to address emerging environmental and social crises.

In the post-war period, environmental issues were not considered relevant, while today the focus is on sustainability, including biodiversity, conservation of natural resources and climate change mitigation. 

"These issues face a great challenge for institutes such as INTA, since they not only add the complexity of incorporating environmental impact as a key variable in any innovation or development, but also that impact must be analyzed from the point of view of the agri-food system. In other words, it should be analyzed from primary production through industry to the consumer," explains Marcelo Torres, President of the Asociación Argentina de Productores en Siembra Directa (Aapresid), who was invited as Argentina's representative to take part in the Round table on agri-food science, technology and innovation (ITC) systems in Latin America and the Caribbean facing the challenges of 2030 led by IICA, at its headquarters in Costa Rica last April.

Continuing with the IICA's report, another of the major changes that have taken place in the area comes from the broadening of the spectrum of development in science, with solid advances in biology, information and communication technologies (ICT), artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, robotics and engineering. Today, these areas bring precision and reliability to processes. "These tools aid in decision making, as well as to provide real support for the smaller environmental footprint of production models like the Argentina's model and connecting with consumers," adds Torres. 

The last of the key changes has to do with the private sector, which has become primarily responsible for innovation in agri-food systems and has gained prominence with the raising importance of biology, genetics, informatics and other sciences. 

Institutionality, Science, Financing and Producer Protagonism

Given this new situation, Torres states that the institutional system must be strengthened in order to achieve an evolution of the way innovation is developed in this field. "The discussion in Costa Rica laid the groundwork for continuing to strengthen strategic issues in the agri-food industry in the Americas, by placing them on the international agenda and identifying potential areas for collaboration," he said. 

In the same way, it will be crucial to avoid being governed by "beliefs" and rely on science and technology to encourage innovation. "At the meeting in Costa Rica, organizations like IICA and the World Bank showed a firm decision in this regard". 

He also assures that "when users of a new technology are incorporated as part of the innovation process, it is enhanced". By taking ownership of the developments, they contribute to generate and expand solutions that truly address the needs of the system. 

"A clear example is the Argentine producers. These world leaders are adopting process technologies such as the no-tillage system that currently covers 90% of the Argentine land. In other countries, this is not so evident. In fact, the producer is usually at the end of the process, taking on the role of incorporating new developments that come from other areas or actors," said Torres. This is why an evolution of these models would open up opportunities for us as a country.

Finally, he mentioned the need to review the financing systems for innovation, stating, "producers have a key role to play, although just as they contribute with the economic resources and investments necessary for the development of new technologies, they should have more room to become involved in the governance of the systems."