Agricultural Revolutions

Agricultural Revolutions

Agribusiness and Agri-food Systems

1. The Agricultural Revolution

• 1st Agricultural Revolution (12 000 ys ago): – Development of seed agriculture – Use of plow and draft animals– Plant and animal domestication

• 2nd Agricultural Revolution (~ Industrial Rev. or mid 18th C)– Improvement in livestock and crop yields– Planting clover and legumes– Metal implements– Replacement of ox by horse– New inputs in agricultural production

• 3rd Agricultural Revolution (~20thC):– Modernization and mechanization – Chemical farming (Green Revolution)– Food manufacturing

Pesticide sprayer

plow

• Capitalist agricultural ‘revolution’

– Food became a commodity

• increased state intervention

– Decrease in agricultural labor

– Wealth concentration

The Green Revolution

• HYVs (high-yielding varieties) • Increased use of fertilizers, pesticides,

energy • Genetically-engineered crops

• Profit potential for TNCs (E.G. Monsanto Corp.) – Concerns over ‘intellectual property rights’ to

plant genomes, indigenous knowledge bases

2. Agri-business and Agri-food systems

• Agri-business: ... “an integrated, corporate system, involving all aspects of agriculture, from food production, to processing and distribution”

(Knox & Agnew 2003, p. 36)

– production– transport– financing – regulation and – Marketing

Model of Agricultural Location

• Von Thünen’s Model:

Land-use rings with different farm products

Based on: – demand, – operating costs,– transport cost, – land rent prices.