Inkriql Posted June 19, 2022 Share Posted June 19, 2022 ORDOBA. Biotechnology and the knowledge economy are the two sectors that in the medium term a specialist “in the future” sees as the ones that should play the most important role in Argentine exports. In the transition, he says, the country will continue to be dynamic due to commodities, but in the medium and long term, “the intersection of vertical disciplines” -such as health, education, security- with technology is defining. Andrés Pallaro, director of the Future Observatory of the 21st Century University, states that, in terms of food, Argentina must join the "revolution" that the sector is experiencing in the world, taking advantage of the potential it has and the companies that already work in that line: organic, gourmet and even frozen. “The world is experiencing a revolution in the ways of producing food. More, better and more accessible, without affecting the environment -he adds- Producing better does not require decreasing. Growth is synonymous with progress and employment. Doing it in an environmentally friendly way is a source of sustainability and evolution.” In dialogue with LA NACION, Pallaro points out that the State must fulfill the role of "entrepreneur" as the Italian economist Mariana Mazzucato calls it. The key, according to this point of view, is to work to achieve co-investments and new types of agreements between the public and private sectors to direct economic growth towards a smart, sustainable and inclusive model. That State implies the end of the eras of the “big and small” State and moves towards institutional designs based on behavioral sciences and strategic public investment that is “possible and desirable”. -In the medium and long term, what will the world demand? -In our observatory we are dedicated to fishing for signals and subjecting them to reflection and what we see is that the intersection of vertical disciplines with technology is advancing. That is, health, education and security with software and artificial intelligence. That is what is boiling; it is the axis of the fifth technological revolution that will be more evolved and dynamic than the fourth. This allows the development of new needs and opportunities for Argentina that would allow it to get out of dependence on commodity exports. -Which sectors in Argentina are the ones that are in that line? -One of the emerging is biotechnology; biology applied to animals, plants and people. We have the systemic conditions; there is a dynamic Argentine Chamber with a project accelerator and with companies that work and grow like Don Mario or Bioceres, as well as many startups. We can take advantage of the abundance of talents we have and grow stronger and stronger. -What does it take for that impact to occur? -Strategies sustained over time. There is a consensus, among sensible people outside the ideological extremes, that this is the key, the crucial ingredient. Two decades must be sustained; if one sees the numbers today they are good, they grow, but they do not manage to move the ammeter. Biotechnology and the knowledge economy are doing well but more is needed. As long as they continue to be propped up, in the transition, the country can continue with commodities. Biotechnology is a concrete case that moves away from extremes; there are public-private strategies; there is an active chamber, newly born companies that export and large ones that invest. It is a sector from which we must learn even more than from the knowledge economy which, at the moment, is concentrated in services that must begin to be transformed more and more into products. What role does education play in this area? -It is the mother of all the explanations that exist in the world of more added value, of more attraction of dollars, of the possibility of getting people out of precarious jobs. What is being done is not enough; a more intensive and measured effort is required. The more people we are able to involve, the better. We do not escape the general rule that there are positions that cannot be covered and are linked to technology, to data analysis. We don't get them to acquire those skills in the short term. There are efforts from all kinds of universities, from technical institutes, but we still haven't managed to convert them into a mass of volume, into a great movement. -What case in the world would you use to graph one of the paths that can be followed? - France. Emanuel Macron was re-elected and there is a lot of controversy, but in his first term - he barely took office - he stated that he aimed to revitalize technological France and achieve 25 unicorns in his management. And he did. The secret is the enterprising State of Mazuccato plus the entrepreneurs who take risks, who dare to develop. The State must be a catalyst for that to happen. It is the opposite of what we hear from new libertarians; a synergistic and joint work of the State with the private sector is required. It implies a paradigm shift of enormous impact that is given by the transformation of the State to serve and leverage the Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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