How to manage agricultural companies in times of uncertainty, and how to present businesses so that they are attractive to investment, not only foreign, but also local. The undersecretary of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries, Juan Ignacio buffa, and the Knowledge Manager of the National Meat Institute (INAC) and Professor of Agribusiness at the ORT University, Pablo Caputi, spoke about it this Friday.
Caputi stressed that agribusiness generates great economic development and spills over into different sectors of the economy, therefore, it is important that when thinking about public policies for this area, the producer and the entrepreneur are placed at the center.
Today the environmental management of resources and production is on the table, he indicated and in Uruguay “we produce in the way that the world wants, and we demonstrate it”, he added. In this area there are opportunities for development and investment, which go hand in hand with the information on the subject and how Uruguay “sells itself” as a productive country. “Environmental management is a matter of information,” he mentioned.
Currently in a company “The most important thing is to think about the design of the production system, because a well-designed system admits adjustments,” said Caputi.
Analysis in three parts
For his part, Buffa explained that when thinking about a company, it should be analyzed in three parts. On the one hand, thinking of land capital, on the other, of productive capital (for example cattle) and, finally, of working capital.
“Analyzing these three parts of the business provides opportunities for all sides. In a company it is very healthy to analyze what the land, the machinery and the playing power of every year gives me. The same company has three different businesses, because they are different dimensions of the business”, he specified.
New generations of entrepreneurs
The undersecretary explained that to make Uruguay an attractive country for investments, not only for foreigners but also for Uruguayans, work must be done to provide confidence and predictability, which is done with information. According to him, it is necessary to further develop the profile of the agronomist as a business articulator.
“It seems to me that agriculture is sold poorly,” he stressed. and said that they have not been able to convey the opportunities that the sector has as a place of business. And that is why many young people, for example, still do not see opportunities in this sector.
He added that In general, young people see agriculture as a sector that has “very high barriers to entry”, when in reality it has great opportunities.
“I think that the whole system has not been known to sell to be attractive. In order for the new generations to visualize development, we have to work much harder on business opportunities”, she stressed.