Obituary: Cosme Argerich

It is with great sadness that we report that Cosme Argerich, recognised for his key contribution to the development of the Argentine industrial tomato sector and his role within ISHS and WPTC, died Friday 27 June in a road accident near Mendoza at the age of 70. 

A national visionary

Trained professionally in Mendoza and at UC Davis, Cosme Argerich developed much of his career at the research station INTA La Consulta, in his native Mendoza. He was a technical reference of INTA, committed to productive innovation, technology transfer and the cooperative organization of agriculture.

In the mid-nineties, in the midst of the boom of convertibility and trade openness, it detected the serious setback of the tomato sector due to low productivity and unfair competition from imports, which emptied Argentine gondolas with products from Chile, Italy or China.

Tired of seeing that research projects did not generate a direct impact on producers, he proposed a simple but transformative idea: “We had to work together.” Thus was born in 1997 Tomate 2000, a non-profit organization that managed to sit at the same table producers, industries, provincial governments, service providers and INTA technicians, articulating a common strategy for the development of the crop.

Under his impetus, Tomate 2000 promoted the incorporation of technologies validated by public research in each cultivated hectare. In a few years, productivity jumped from 25 to more than 100 tons per hectare, consolidating an internal self-supply scheme and a gradual improvement in profitability.

Thanks to the Argerich model, the sector even managed to develop a hail compensation fund, which today covers about 10% of the planted area. “The industry can pay the same or less than other countries and producers earn money,” he said proudly.

Even already retired, he continued to be linked as an advisor to the entity that he helped to create. In one of his last interviews, Argerich stated that the cultivation of tomato for industry is today safe and competitive, and that Argentina could start dreaming of exporting. “Why not?” he asked, convinced that collective work could face even the new challenges of import opening.

An international legacy 

Cosme was also an universally recognised reference in the field of tomato for industry around the world. For many years, he was the Chair of the ISHS Working Group Production of Vegetables for Processing, organizing and presiding several ISHS Symposia on Tomato Processing. As such he mentored many young scientists for the next generation in Argentina and globally.

He also chaired the WPTC Commission on Research until 2023. Despite being officially retired from INTA, he remained until his passing Tomate 2000’s official representative on the board of WPTC, actively participating in the meetings, the exchange of information and the organization of the congresses and symposium.

Cosme Argerich with members of Tomate 2000, officials from San Juan and a delegation from WPTC during a field visit in 2018

Over the years, Cosme had become a close friend to many in the industry globally, and his wife Monica and him hosted many visitors from around the world at their house in Mendoza. He also entertained everyone with his singing and dancing at various events and congresses.

The news of his death generated deep sadness in the agro-industrial field, both in Argentina and around the world. Cosme Argerich leaves a deep mark on the Argentine and international tomato industry. Not only for its technical and organizational role, but for having been the silent engine of an integration model that allowed the tomato sector to move from backwardness to competitiveness. Its history is, like that of the country, one of advances and setbacks. Today, in the face of new economic challenges and the threats of imports, his legacy is more effective than ever. As he himself said: “What saved us was having all worked together.“

An online memorial page is available at HERE for those who want to leave a message and a photo.