The potential of digital agriculture start-ups to reshape market dynamics in the ag-input industry: A case study from Argentina.

Abstract

Agri-food global value chains (GVCs) face growing pressure to enhance productivity and environmental sustainability, with technological innovation playing a critical role. In this context, start-ups have emerged as key innovation developers. This study provides a qualitative, exploratory analysis of the technological characteristics of 114 digital agriculture (DA) start-ups in Argentina. We have characterized their solutions and proposed implications for the industrial dynamics in agricultural input markets. Our analysis implies that most DA innovations tend to be complementary to existing technological packages rather than being disruptive. While these start-ups introduce innovative solutions, they currently seem to hold limited capacity to challenge the market dominance of large multinational agricultural input firms. By exploring the intersection of innovation and market structures, this study provides valuable insights into the evolving industrial dynamics of ag-input markets in agri-food GVCs. The findings offer strategic implications for start-ups, incumbents, and policymakers.