The word "agribusiness" is a
portmanteau of the words
agriculture and
business. The earliest known use of the word was in the Volume 155 of the
Canadian Almanac & Directory published in 1847. Although most practitioners recognize that it was coined in 1957 by two
Harvard Business School professors, John Davis and Ray Goldberg after they published the book "
A Concept of Agribusiness." Their book argued against the
New Deal programs of then
U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt as it led to the increase in agricultural prices. Davis and Goldberg favored
corporate-driven agriculture or large-scale farming to revolutionize the agriculture sector, lessening the dependency on state power and politics. They explained in the book that
vertically integrated firms within the
agricultural value chains have the ability to control prices and where they are distributed. The program was initially a joint undertaking with the
UP College of Business Administration in
Diliman, Quezon City until 1975. In 1973, Drilon and Goldberg further expanded the concept of agribusiness to include support organizations such as
governments,
research institutions, schools, financial institutions, and cooperatives within the integrated Agribusiness System. Mark R. Edwards and Clifford J. Shultz II (2005) of
Loyola University Chicago reframed the definition of agribusiness to emphasize its lack of focus on
farm production but towards
market centricity and
innovative approach to serve consumers worldwide. In 2012, Thomas L. Sporleder and Michael A. Boland defined the unique economic characteristics of agribusiness supply chains from industrial manufacturing and service supply chains. They have identified seven main characteristics: •
Risks emanating from the biological nature of agrifood supply chains • The role of
buffer stocks within the supply chain • The scientific foundation of innovation in production agriculture having shifted from
chemistry to
biology • Cyberspace and
information technology influences on agrifood supply chains • The prevalent market structure at the
farm gate remains
oligopsony • Relative
market power shifts in agrifood supply chains away from food manufacturers downstream to food retailers •
Globalization of agriculture and agrifood supply chains In 2017, noting the rise of
genetic engineering and
biotechnology in agriculture, Goldberg further expanded the definition of agribusiness which covers all the interdependent aspects of the food system including medicine, nutrition, and health. He also emphasized the responsibility of agribusiness to be environmentally and socially conscious towards
sustainability. Some agribusinesses have adopted the
triple bottom line framework such as aligning for
fair trade,
organic,
good agricultural practices, and
B-corporation certifications towards the concept of
social entrepreneurship. == Agribusiness system ==