Damián Ratto conducts agricultural research in Japan

Damián Ratto, an Industrial Organization graduate and specialist in Managerial Engineering from the Universidad Tecnológica Nacional (UTN) Regional Concepción del Uruguay, is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Rural Economics in Japan.

Ratto secured his position through a scholarship from the Japanese Ministry of Education, following a rigorous selection process involving documentation reviews and interviews. Having already completed an MBA with honors at Kyoto University, his current doctoral research focuses on the adoption of technology in agriculture.

His study provides a comparative analysis between Japan and Argentina. Ratto notes an unexpected contrast: while Japan is highly advanced, its agricultural sector faces challenges due to small field sizes and an aging producer population, which can hinder technology adoption. In contrast, he observes a higher rate of technological integration within the Argentine agricultural sector and aims to investigate the underlying reasons for this phenomenon.