What does agribusiness mean?
Agribusiness refers to the range of commercial enterprises involved in modern food production: not only farming itself, but also the businesses that manufacture farm equipment, seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides, and those that process, transport, market, and retail agricultural goods. Coined by Harvard Business School professor John Davis and economist Ray Goldberg in their 1957 book A Concept of Agribusiness, the term treats agriculture as an integrated industrial system rather than a collection of individual farms. In economics and policy discussions it functions as a neutral descriptive label for a major economic sector. In public debate, however, it often carries critical overtones, evoking large corporations, factory farming, and the displacement of small family farms. The word is standard in journalism, scholarship, and government reports worldwide, making it essential vocabulary for anyone following debates about food systems, trade, rural economies, or environmental policy.
nounThe business of agricultural production, encompassing farming and the enterprises that supply, process, and distribute farm products, such as seed companies, food processors, and distributors. It is often used to refer to large-scale, corporate agriculture as a sector of the economy.
- The industry or sector comprising agricultural production together with the businesses that supply inputs to farms and process, package, and distribute farm products.
- Large-scale, corporately owned commercial farming, especially when contrasted with small-scale or family farming.
"The region's economy is dominated by agribusiness, with vast corporate farms producing grain for export."
"Agribusiness firms supply everything from seeds and fertilizer to the processing plants that turn wheat into packaged bread."
"Critics argue that the consolidation of family farms into giant agribusiness operations has hollowed out rural communities."
The plural is uncommon but legitimate when referring to multiple such enterprises individually.
"Several multinational agribusinesses dominate the global grain trade."
Coined in 1957 by Harvard economists John Davis and Ray Goldberg, 'agribusiness' was invented as a deliberate academic term — and it now names an industry that feeds most of the planet.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of agribusiness
Agribusiness was coined in English in the mid-20th century, introduced by John M. Davis and Ray A. Goldberg in their 1957 Harvard study 'A Concept of Agribusiness'. It blends 'agriculture', from the Latin 'ager' (field) and 'cultura' (cultivation), with 'business'. Related words drawing on the same Latin root include agrarian, agronomy, and agricultural.
Related word forms
How agribusiness is actually used
The term is neutral in economic and policy contexts but can carry a negative connotation in environmental and social commentary, where it is associated with industrial-scale, corporate farming. It is a standard term in journalism, economics, and academic writing rather than everyday conversation.
Easily confused with agribusiness
Agriculture refers broadly to the practice of cultivating crops and raising livestock, while agribusiness specifically denotes the commercial, business-oriented side of that activity.