The evolution of farming networks in a fragile institutional environment: The case of Argentina

Abstract

In Argentina, farming traditionally took place in small and medium-sized family farms, mostly by means of their own land, labour, capital (financial, machinery, etc.) and entrepreneurship. Farmers owned enough equipment to cope with all the activities required for the production cycle. This traditional family farm model is the dominant organisational form in agriculture in almost every country. However, the way of managing, contracting and organising agriculture in Argentina has changed since the 1990s as a result of several institutional innovations. Even though the 2002 economic crisis created a highly uncertain scenario, farm production continued to expand and new organisational forms appeared. Since 2007, institutional changes (more related to Government intervention) had a negative impact on production and organisational forms. These different periods and scenarios enable us to explore the dynamics and interrelationships of the different institutional, organisational and technological environments. The paper discusses organisational adaptation in the agriculture sector as a response to radical changes in the technological and institutional environments, in a context of increased international demand for agricultural commodities.