- Argentina Week brought together investment opportunities in energy, mining, agribusiness, and technology.
- It was not shown how science applied to biology can unite those sectors, precisely when Europe is seeking to drive that change.
Por Eduardo Trigo y Nelson Illescas
Argentina went to Paris to showcase its investment opportunities. The published agenda for "Argentina Week" covered energy, mining, agribusiness, healthcare, and technology. However, the bioeconomy—that is, the economy that utilizes plants, microorganisms, and organic waste to produce food, energy, materials, and medicines—did not feature as an explicit focus of the presentation. This omission warrants discussion, as Europe is driving a strategy to transform biological knowledge into new industries, and Argentina possesses the capabilities to participate in this effort.
Agriculture and the food sector were present. Therefore, the criticism cannot be that bio-based activity was entirely absent. What was missing was a perspective that linked the agricultural sector, science, industry, and energy. That connection makes it possible to showcase an Argentina with investment opportunities that go beyond the sectors typically used to represent the country.
One possible explanation is that we continue to view the agricultural sector primarily as a provider of food and foreign currency, energy as a separate business, and technology as synonymous with the digital economy. Each activity is important. The problem arises when this compartmentalization leaves out the businesses that emerge from combining them. Biology is transforming how resources are produced and used. Today, for instance, corn yields not only food but also bioethanol—which is blended with gasoline—while biogas can be obtained from dairy farm waste. Thus, the agricultural sector takes on a much broader economic role.
Eduardo Trigo.Eduardo Trigo.
Simply put, the bioeconomy combines what grows in the fields and in nature with scientific knowledge to improve production, launch new activities, and make full use of everything produced—including waste currently discarded. It links laboratories with investment and enables a single harvest to fuel multiple businesses simultaneously. Its development requires technology, engineering, services, and industrial capabilities. It is a way of organizing opportunities that are currently scattered across various sectors and government agencies.
Argentina possesses a competitive agricultural and agro-industrial sector, extensive experience in biotechnology (having been one of the first countries to adopt genetically modified crops and having developed drought-tolerant wheat), scientific institutions such as INTA and CONICET, and professionals capable of driving this transformation. Not all these capabilities are fully integrated, nor are all opportunities at the same stage of maturity. Nevertheless, they constitute a starting point that deserves to be part of the proposal we present to the world. If we showcase only our natural resources, we tell only half the story, as we fail to convey what we are capable of achieving with them. And that is where the future lies.
Moreover, this omission is particularly significant in the case of Paris. The new European bioeconomy strategy is a plan to move scientific discoveries from the laboratory to the factory and into large-scale production, while simultaneously safeguarding natural resources. Europe is considering how to link laboratories, companies, and markets. Argentina could position itself as a partner possessing both the production capacity and the indigenous expertise to help carry out part of that agenda.
The trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur could lower tariffs and facilitate certain exports and imports. However, its true value will also depend on the business ventures we are able to build around that relationship. This requires cooperation in science and technology—focusing on concrete production challenges, attracting investment, and learning. Paying lower tariffs, in itself, does not guarantee that leap forward.
There are concrete opportunities for cooperation without the need to announce large-scale plants for every initiative. Sharing pilot plants—intermediate facilities where laboratory inventions are tested for larger-scale viability—can help transform scientific results into real-world processes. Joint training for researchers, engineers, and technicians can expand the capabilities of our teams. Collaborative programs between scientific institutions and industry players can tackle problems that a small company would struggle to solve on its own. This entire network of laboratories, universities, and technical teams should also be showcased to investors.
The energy sector offers another area that warranted inclusion in the presentation. Argentina’s experience with bioenergy—including soy biodiesel, sugarcane and corn bioethanol, and biogas—combined with the agribusiness sector's high energy demand, creates opportunities for investments that improve efficiency, utilize waste products (such as manure, peanut shells, or sugarcane bagasse), and reduce costs. Some of these investments can target international markets, while others can strengthen local production and supply. Furthermore, they can generate services and employment in the country's interior.
European cooperation could provide engineering, financing, and assessment methods, while Argentina can contribute production expertise, research, and knowledge of its systems. Such partnerships must leave behind knowledge and established capabilities within the country. They must also demonstrate environmental responsibility. The fact that something originates from plants or waste does not automatically make it sustainable; its impact on soil, water, biodiversity, and greenhouse gas emissions must be measured.
The bioeconomy may have a lower profile because its opportunities are spread across agriculture, industry, energy, science, and the environment. None of these sectors can develop them in isolation. This fragmentation makes it difficult to compile a concrete list of projects to present to investors or to explain what capabilities exist, which ones are missing, and how they interconnect. Coordinating these elements is part of a development policy, and failing to do so weakens how we present ourselves to the world.
Mercosur offers an additional scale for organizing this task. Regional cooperation can expand markets and enable shared access to facilities and services. Each country can contribute according to its strengths, without needing to build all the facilities on its own. For Argentina, a better-coordinated regional partnership could also strengthen cooperation with Europe and expand opportunities for its companies and scientific teams.
The next time the country seeks investment abroad, it should present a readily identifiable bioeconomy proposal featuring projects ready for funding, coordinated institutions, and clear investment rules. It should also demonstrate how such investments can expand provincial capabilities, integrate SMEs and cooperatives, and generate skilled jobs. Macroeconomic stability—characterized by low inflation and predictable rules—is essential. However, determining where it is best to invest also requires understanding and organizing those capabilities.
An investment presentation conveys a vision of the country's future. Argentina has grounds to highlight its energy and mineral resources, as well as to showcase the transformation it can build upon its biological foundation. Giving the bioeconomy a prominent place would allow for a more complete picture of that potential. Europe has an agenda with which to engage; it is up to us to bring a proposal of our own.
See the original article at Clarín
