• Biotechnology

Biotechnology

This paper examines relations between the state and capital in Argentina with respect to agricultural biotechnology. Argentina is one of the world's leading exporters of genetically modified (GM) crops and is a key player in the global politics of biotechnology. Whereas in other parts of the world, active civil societies and some governments have rejected the technology, Argentina has adopted it as a central accumulation strategy. Looking at the role of business in the political economy of agricultural biotechnology is revealing both the extent and forms of corporate power and contributes to an understanding of hegemony in practice.

The paper outlines a number of factors that have led to widespread adoption of GM crops in Argentina:

• the fact that nearly all of Argentina’s GM production is for export, principally as animal feed means that, to date, has avoided the public controversy surrounding the human consumption of GMs that has characterised debates in Europe and parts of Asia
• state-led effort to promote soya, working through civil society organisations, made the acceptance of GM soya two decades later easier and less contentious
• key enabling condition for the adoption of GM varieties was the existence of a strong and dynamic agricultural inputs and services sector, particularly regarding seeds, which provided the local germplasm platform for the new genes
• biotechnology was received as a welcome development that offered the prospect of extracting greater profits from using land more intensively but with fewer inputs
• growing dependence on exports of agricultural products left by the decline in manufacturing that followed the liberalisation of the Argentine economy meant biotechnology had a key part to play.

The paper concludes that the case of Argentina presents a series of fascinating insights into the political economy of biotechnology and the role hegemony plays in the governance of the environment and technology. Using the concept of bio-hegemony to understand the political economy of agricultural biotechnology generates insights into the sources and manifestations of corporate power across the material, institutional, and discursive spheres and shows how each accounts for a distinct dimension of power which together produce the hegemonic effects. Through the material contributions to the economy, access to the centers of decision-making and extensive access and control over the media, the proponents and producers of agricultural biotechnology have been able to present support for the technology as a necessary and essential element of state economic strategy.

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