Agricultural Technology Start-Ups – Romania and Hungary Compared

Szalavetz, Andrea (2023) Agricultural Technology Start-Ups – Romania and Hungary Compared. ROMANIAN JOURNAL OF EUROPEAN AFFAIRS, 23 (1). pp. 34-45. ISSN 1582-8271 (print); 1841-4273 (online)

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Abstract

This paper departs from the hypothesis that in the era of agriculture 4.0, start-ups specialised in digital agricultural technology (AT) have the potential not only to rapidly grow, but also to have a beneficial impact outside the core countries of agricultural innovation. To validate this assumption, we compiled data about a sample of Romanian and Hungarian AT start-ups entering the market with self-developed digital solutions. Based on extensive desk research, we identified the main distinctive features of the surveyed start-ups, compared to their peers in advanced economies, and answered the related key research question: how meaningful is the impact of these start-ups on the much-needed upgrading of agricultural production in these countries? Our analysis reveals that although local AT start-ups in these countries do develop innovative solutions in the field of precision farming, farm management software, applications, and e-marketplaces, their number is below a threshold where they could have an impact on the upgrading of local agriculture. More importantly, the reduced size of the local market for technology and other hard-to-overcome barriers make it barely possible for them to grow as rapidly as some AT start-ups do in advanced economies.

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