Innovation in informal settings but in which direction? The case of small cotton farming systems in Argentina

Abstract

We compare two very different kinds of innovation in the same informal setting; that of small-scale cotton production in northeast Argentina. One involved the informal production and sale of copied genetically modified seeds, an innovation that fitted readily within an incumbent set of socio-technical practices concerned with intensive commodity crop production. The other involved new agro-ecological techniques; a radical departure from incumbent practices. By contrasting these cases, we argue that the potential of informal innovation to better address the problems of marginalized actors depends on the broader socio-technical system to which innovation seeks to contribute.