Agribusiness
Agribusiness is the business of
agricultural production which involves
the production, protection, sales and
marketing of the product to satisfy the
customers need. The term is a
portmanteau of agriculture and business
and was coined in 1957 by John Davis
and Ray Goldberg.[1] It includes
agrichemicals, breeding, crop production
(farming or contract farming),
distribution, farm machinery, processing,
and seed supply, as well as marketing
and retail sales. All agents of the food
and fiber value chain and those
institutions that influence it are part of
the agribusiness system.
Agribusiness: a display of a John Deere 7800
tractor with Houle slurry trailer, Case IH combine
harvester, New Holland FX 25 forage harvester with
corn head
Within the agriculture industry,
"agribusiness" refers to the range of
activities and disciplines encompassed
by modern food production. There are
academic degrees specializing in
agribusiness, departments of
agribusiness, agribusiness trade
associations, and agribusiness
publications.
In the context of agribusiness
management in academia, each
individual element of agriculture
production and distribution may be
described as agribusinesses. However,
the term "agribusiness" most often
emphasizes the "interdependence" of
these various sectors within the
production chain.[2]
Among critics of large-scale,
industrialized, vertically integrated food
production, the term agribusiness is used
negatively, synonymous with corporate
farming. As such, it is often contrasted
with smaller family-owned farms.
Examples
Agribusinesses include seed and
agrichemical producers like Dow
AgroSciences, DuPont, Monsanto, and
Syngenta; AB Agri (part of Associated
British Foods) animal feeds, biofuels, and
micro-ingredients, ADM, grain transport
and processing; John Deere, farm
machinery producer; Ocean Spray,
farmer's cooperative; and Purina Farms,
agritourism farm.
As concern over global warming
intensifies, biofuels derived from crops
are gaining increased public and
scientific attention. This is driven by
factors such as oil price spikes, the need
for increased energy security, concern
over greenhouse gas emissions from
fossil fuels, and support from
government subsidies. In Europe and in
the US, increased research and
production of biofuels have been
mandated by law.[3]
Studies and reports
Studies of agribusiness often come from
the academic fields of agricultural
economics and management studies,
sometimes called agribusiness
management.[2] To promote more
development of food economies, many
government agencies support the
research and publication of economic
studies and reports exploring
agribusiness and agribusiness practices.
Some of these studies are on foods
produced for export and are derived from
agencies focused on food exports. These
agencies include the Foreign Agricultural
Service (FAS) of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada (AAFC), Austrade, and New
Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE).
The Federation of International Trade
Associations publishes studies and
reports by FAS and AAFC, as well as
other non-governmental organizations on
its website.[4]
In their book A Concept of Agribusiness,[1]
Ray Goldberg and John Davis provided a
rigorous economic framework for the
field. They traced a complex value-added
chain that begins with the farmer's
purchase of seed and livestock and ends
with a product fit for the consumer's
table. Agribusiness boundary expansion
is driven by a variety of transaction costs.
See also
Agrarian law
Agrarian reform
Agricultural machinery industry
Agricultural marketing
Agricultural value chain
Agroecology
Biofuel
Contract farming
Energy crop
Environmental impact of agriculture
Factory farming
Industrial agriculture
Land banking
Agribusiness in Kenya
Notes and references
1. Davis, John H.; Goldberg, Ray A.
(1957). A Concept of Agribusiness.
Division of Research, Graduate
School of Business Administration,
Harvard University.
2. Ng, Desmond; Siebert, John W.
(2009). "Toward Better Defining the
Field of Agribusiness Management"
(PDF). International Food and
Agribusiness Management Review.
12 (4).
3. "Backpedaling on Biofuels" .
Wild.org. 2008-08-01. Archived from
the original on 2012-09-19.
Retrieved 2013-05-02.
4. "fita.org" . fita.org. Retrieved
2013-05-02.
Further reading
Look up agribusiness in Wiktionary,
the free dictionary.
John Wilkinson. "The Globalization of
Agribusiness and Developing World
Food Systems" . Monthly Review.
Gitta, Cosmas and South, David (2012).
Southern Innovator Magazine Issue 3:
Agribusiness and Food Security :
United Nations Office for South-South
Cooperation. ISSN 2222-9280
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