Ciencia, tecnología y mercado: Investigaciones en arroz en el INTA argentino

Abstract

The importance of knowledge in contemporary societies and its growing part in variant productive and social dynamics constitute a widely discussed subject. Additionally, the dispute over the access to various natural common goods is a concern in today’s agenda, particularly for Latin American societies. What about the production of scientific knowledge involved in procuring increasingly contended resources such as seeds? This paper studies the trajectory of an investigation into the process of obtaining varieties of rice which are resistant to herbicides, led by the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA), in Argentina. An insight is provided into the dynamics of production and the use of scientific and technological knowledge funded by the government. Based on institutional documentation, regulatory frameworks and a series of interviews with scientists and technicians, we have analyzed the social, economic and political implications that come with the organization of the production and the appropriation of knowledge in the historically relevant area of agriculture.