Territorial impacts of the monoculture-based agri-food industry: Comparative analyses on two continents

Abstract

Agri-food industrial complexes have undergone rapid transformations in recent decades, resulting in significant territorial impacts in the regions where they are concentrated. Economic and social globalization has given rise to a global consumer class with increasingly homogenized habits, driving up demand for certain agri-food products—both for direct consumption and as inputs in intermediate stages of the value chain. Technological advancements have further intensified crop yields, making agricultural investments more attractive to financial capital. This paper explores this process through two paradigmatic cases: soybean cultivation in the Pampas region of Argentina and olive farming in the southern Iberian Peninsula. These cases illustrate how agribusiness is reshaping traditional agro-industrial complexes, affecting economic, financial, technological, and institutional structures. Despite these transformations, production remains primarily geared toward international markets. The methodological approach used is the case study, framed within an evolutionary perspective of endogenous development theories. The analysis of the development of these two monoculture-based agri-food industries highlights how technological innovations evolve within specific institutional and socioeconomic contexts, driving progressive changes that model localized activities.