Skip to main content

Agribusiness

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Zero Hunger

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ((ENUNSDG))

  • 51 Accesses

Definition

The term agribusiness refers to a set of multiple, interrelated businesses, which are connected to agriculture upstream and downstream in the supply chain; it provides goods and services to consumers around the world (Davis and Goldberg 1957; Gunderson et al. 2014). The sphere of agribusiness concerns the business of agricultural production: it includes the people and firms who provide inputs, process the output, manufacture the food products, and transport and sell food products to consumers (Anitha 2006; Bairwa et al. 2014).

Synonyms

Agri-food system; Agri-industry management; Food and fiber production and the marketing system; Vertical integration in production

Introduction

The objective of this entry is to provide noneconomists with an analytical tool with which to understand various aspects of contemporary agriculture and food and fiber systems. The first part of the entry will provide an overview of the concept of agribusiness from its conception to current times. It...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 499.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 649.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Anitha V (2006) Agribusiness – employment opportunities for women entrepreneurs in India. In: Miryala RK, Aluvala R (eds) Trends, challenges and innovations in management, vol II. Zenon Academic Publishing, Hyderabad, pp 237–243

    Google Scholar 

  • Bairwa SL, Kalia A, Meena LK, Lakra K, Kushwaha S (2014) Agribusiness management education: a review on employment opportunities. Int J Sci Res Publ (IJSRP) 4(2):1–4

    Google Scholar 

  • Beierlein JG, Woolverton MW (1991) Agribusiness marketing: the management perspective. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs

    Google Scholar 

  • Boehlje M (1999) Structural change in the agricultural industries: how do we measure, analyze, and understand them? Am J Agric Econ 18(5):1028–1041

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bojar W, Sikora M, Dzieża G (2017) Current challenges of agricultural business against farming economic efficiency and sustainable development. In: 8th International scientific conference ‘RURAL DEVELOPMENT 2017: Bioeconomy challenges’, Kaunas, 23–24 Nov 2017, pp 917–923

    Google Scholar 

  • Connor JM (2003) The changing structure of global food markets: dimensions, effects, an policy implications. In: Changing dimension of the food economy, conference paper, Hague

    Google Scholar 

  • Conway G (2012) One billion hungry: can we feed the world? Cornell University Press, Ithaca

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis JH (1956) From agriculture to agribusiness. Harv Bus Rev 34(1):107–115

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis JH, Goldberg RA (1957) A concept of agribusiness. Division of Research, Graduate School of Business 897 Administration, Harvard University, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Downey DW, Erickson SP (1987) Agribusiness management. McGraw-Hill, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunne AJ (2002) Supply chain management: fad, panacea or opportunity? Agribusiness perspectives, Paper 48

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards MR, Schultz CJ II (2005) Reframing agribusiness: moving from farm to market centric. J Agribusi 23(1):57–73 905

    Google Scholar 

  • Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. (2011) Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2011) Global food losses and food waste – extent, causes and prevention. FAO, Rome. ISBN 978-92-5107205-9

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2017) The future of food and agriculture: trends and challenges. FAO, Rome. ISBN 978-92-5-109551-5

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO and ITPS (2015) Status of the world’s soil resources (SWSR) – main report. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Foley JA, Ramankutty N, Brauman KA, Cassidy ES, Gerber JS, Johnston M et al (2011) Solutions for a cultivated planet. Nature 478(7369):337–342

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gandhi VP (2014) Growth and transformation of the agribusiness sector: drivers, models, and challenges. Indian J Agric Econ 69(1):44–74

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerland P, Raftery AE, Ševčíková H, Li N, Gu D, Spoorenberg T et al (2014) World population stabilization unlikely this century. Science 346(6206):234–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giampietro M (2004) Multi-scale integrated analysis of agroecosystems. CRC Press, Boca Raton

    Google Scholar 

  • Gomiero T (2015) Are biofuels an effective and viable energy strategy for industrialized societies?A reasoned overview of potentials and limits. Sustainability 7(7):8491–8521

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gomiero T (2016) Soil degradation, land scarcity and food security: reviewing a complex challenge. Sustainability 8:1–41

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gow H, Oliver L, Gow N (2002) Co-operating to compete in high velocity global markets: the strategic role of flexible supply chain architectures. J Chain Netw Sci 2(1):19–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gunderson MA, Boehlje MD, Neves MF, Sonka ST (2014) Agribusiness organization and management. In: Encyclopedia of agriculture and food systems. Elsevier/Academic Pres, Boston, pp 51–70

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton LM (2009) Deeply rooted. Counterpoint Press, Berkeley

    Google Scholar 

  • HLPE (2014) Food losses and waste in the context of sustainable food systems. A report by the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition of the Committee on World Food Security, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Jansen K, Vellema S (eds) (2004) Agribusiness and society: corporate responses to environmentalism, market opportunities and public regulation. Zed Books, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Malcolm B, Davidson B (1999) Agribusiness: disciplines and dimensions. Department of Food Science and Agribusiness, University of Melbourne

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrone A (2016) Hypotheses for a constitutional right to food. Econ Agro-Aliment 18(3):307–318

    Google Scholar 

  • Obst WJ, Graham R, Christie G (2007) Financial management for agribusiness. Landlinks Press, Melbourne

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Pisani DJ (1984) From the family farm to agribusiness. University of California Press, Berkeley

    Google Scholar 

  • Ricketts C, Rawlin O (2001) Introduction to agribusiness. Delmar Thompson Learning, Albany

    Google Scholar 

  • Ricketts C, Ricketts K (2009) Agribusiness: fundamentals and applications. Delmar Cengage Learning, Clifton Park

    Google Scholar 

  • Roy EP (1980) Exploring agribusiness. Interstate Publishers and Printers, Danville

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmitz A, Moss CB, Schmitz TG, Furtan HW, Schmitz HC (2010) Agricultural policy, agribusiness, and rent-seeking behaviour. University of Toronto Press, Toronto

    Google Scholar 

  • Smil V (2000) Feeding the world: a challenge for the twenty-first century. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Soler LG, Tangury H (1998) Coordination between production and commercial planning: organizational and modelling issues. Int Trans Oper Res 5(3):171–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sonka S (2000) Challenges in managing the business. Paper presented at the AAEA preconference workshop “policy implications in the changing structure of the food system”. Tampa Bay, 29 July 2000

    Google Scholar 

  • Sonka ST, Hudson MA (1999) Why agribusiness anyway? Agribusi Int J 5(4):305–314

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stanton JV (2000) The role of agribusiness in development: replacing the diminished role of the government in raising rural incomes. J Agribusi 18(2):173–187

    Google Scholar 

  • Steffen W, Richardson K, Rockström J, Cornell SE, Fetzer I, Bennett EM et al (2015) Planetary boundaries: guiding human development on a changing planet. Science 347(6223):1259855:1–1259855:10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Townsend R (2015) Ending poverty and hunger by 2030: an agenda for the global food system (English). World Bank Group, Washington, DC. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/700061468334490682/Ending-poverty-and-hunger-by-2030-an-agenda-for-the-global-food-system

  • Trevors J, Saier M (2010) Agribusiness versus agriculture. Water Air Soil Pollut 205(1):35–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • USAID (2008) Doing agribusiness. USAID Business Climate Legal and Institutional Reform

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Fleet D (2016) What is agribusiness? Avisual description. Amity J Agribusi 1(1):1–6

    Google Scholar 

  • Zuurbier P (1999) Supply chain management. Lecture notes, Universities of Pretoria and Stellenbosch. Agricultural Business Chamber (ABC), Pretoria

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Valeria Borsellino .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Section Editor information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Borsellino, V. (2020). Agribusiness. In: Leal Filho, W., Azul, A.M., Brandli, L., Özuyar, P.G., Wall, T. (eds) Zero Hunger. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95675-6_1

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics