Analysing Socio-Technical Regimes

The Case of Herbicide-Tolerant Soybeans in Argentina and Uruguay

Abstract

This study investigates the dynamics of homogenization and heterogenization in soybean production in Argentina and Uruguay, focusing on the widespread adoption of herbicide-tolerant (HT) soybeans. Using an integrated theoretical framework combining systems thinking and socio-technical transitions, it examines how the dominant socio-technical regime of HT soybeans has emerged and evolved. Cross-scale analysis reveals that the current regime developed from a long-term trend of agricultural homogenization and a specific configuration of technologies, policies, and markets that preceded the spread of HT soy in the region. Various aligned stressors and feedback mechanisms, driven by agribusiness strategies and economies of scale, have stabilized the regime and reinforced homogenization over the past three decades. However, the study also uncovers countervailing forces – dynamic social and ecological feedback loops – that challenge the system’s foundations. These forces may signal the onset of a new shift in the socio-technical regime.