Agribusiness In A Global Economy: Challenges For An Evolving Profession

Abstract

In a revised definition of the Davis-Goldberg concept of agribusiness, Sonka and Hudson suggest that the food and agribusiness sector might be thought of as a sequence of interrelated subsectors made up of: (1) genetics and seedstock firms, (2) input suppliers, (3) agricultural producers, (4) merchandisers or first handlers, (5) processors, (6) retailers, and (7) consumers. In applying this ubiquitous definition to global data, Goldberg (1991a) estimates that the food and agribusiness system is the largest economic sector in the world economy representing 50 percent of the global labor force, 50 percent of global assets, and 50 percent of global consumer expenditures.