By Sebastian Sterzer
Media www.rajawalisiber.com – If there is a sector where Argentina has the potential to cooperate with Indonesia, invest and share its know-how, it is in the agri-tech sector, that is, technology applied to agriculture.
Thinking about continuous improvement, cost efficiency and sustainable development, technology focused on the agricultural process, in all its stages, can provide benefits for all the intervening actors, not only producers, marketers and consumers, but also the State, the public sector.
Argentina and Indonesia have the potential to cooperate jointly in this regard, by having extensive and fertile lands, as well as human capital and technological infrastructure to carry out cooperation and investment projects. At the same time, both countries trade a large amount of agricultural products in domestic and foreign markets, so there are many paths and experiences that they can learn from each other.
The governments of Indonesia and Argentina, through working groups, have expressed interest in cooperating in agricultural matters, such as, in the case of corn in Indonesia. Here, Argentina has a lot of know-how to share.
The technology, by case, applied to corn from the stage of genetics, planting, soil and water resources management, satellite mapping, harvesting, storage, transportation, among others.
Indonesia has many commodities and agricultural products for which the technology put in for their development and cost efficiency is essential. In addition to corn, a variety of fruits and vegetables such as palm, coconut, cocoa, spices, potato, coffee, mango, pineapple, just to name a few examples. Argentine technology and know-how can be adapted to Indonesian needs and natural resources.
Argentina produces and exports soybeans, corn, wheat, barley, sunflower, rye, legumes, lemons, oranges, tangerines, apples, pears, grapes, blueberries, potatoes, onions, garlic, to name a few fruits and vegetables.
Some of them are already exported to Indonesia -such as soybeans and corn-, while others have yet to be worked on commercially to enter the Indonesian market, taking advantage of the fact that there is a legal agreement that approves the entry of Argentine products.
To carry out the Argentine-Indonesian synergy, it will be necessary to have the governmental support of both governments, the joint work between the private-public sector. Beyond that, the academic contribution between universities and researchers from both countries will also be valuable.
Sharing information and the situation of the agri-tech sector in both countries will be considered essential for the evolution of bilateral relations; For this reason, continuous activities such as webinars, current academic articles and research, virtual meetings between protagonists of the sector, all this will contribute to the development of a sector that will bring substantial improvements, as mentioned, to both the public and private sectors.
Author: Sebastian Sterzer
Head of International Relations Area for the Observatory of International Trade at the National University of Lujan (Argentina)
Currently living in Indonesia