Is Agribusiness Responsible For Food Crisis In the South?

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IS AGRIBUSINESS RESPONSIBLE FOR FOOD CRISIS IN THE SOUTH?

SHOULD AGRIBUSINESS ACTIVITIES IN THE SOUTH BE MORE STRICTLY CONTROLLED?

        “The entire world has, according to some observers, now entered an Age of Scarcity that requires a fundamental shift in national and international policies”  (The Agribusiness Council, 1975:1)

        This opening quote stresses the problem of food crisis, even in 1975, and suggests the need for some sort of control.  The present day situation is often considered worse but in this essay I hope to investigate this.  I am going to describe what has come about to be known as agribusiness, and what effect it has had on the global South.  I will attempt to decipher whether agribusiness is responsible for food crisis, and identify the other factors and causes that have certainly contributed to the situation.  The final part of this essay will look at what is and can be done to control the activities of agribusiness in the South.

        Agribusiness is a term used to describe the large companies and corporations that dominate the global agricultural scene.  It refers to “the activities of a private firm, alone or in joint ventures with public agencies, in the production, processing or marketing of agricultural or agriculture-related goods and services” (Glover & Klusterer, 1990:1).  This quote emphasises the point that agribusiness is not just concerned with agricultural production, but several aspects of food production from the inputs sector to transport, distribution and marketing of food.  A classic example of a present day agribusiness is Unilever, but others include Heinz, Del Monte, and Castle & Cook.

        “Dwindling food reserves and actual starvation in parts of the world are harsh realities”  (The Agribusiness Council, 1975:1).  Famine, chronic hunger and malnutrition, like that experienced in places like Ethiopia, Somalia and the Sudan, are extreme examples of food crisis in the South.  One ideal illustration of that occurred due to severe drought conditions.  However drought is just one of the many factors that can cause and contribute to food crisis.  Indeed the trouble in Ethiopia was also attributed to the war and poor political and social structure of the country.  What is clear is that often a food crisis is influenced by a combination of factors, from a wide range including natural disasters, poor infrastructure and communications, poverty, conflict, debt, unemployment, population growth and more.  For example in many African countries governments aim to keep domestic food prices low to benefit urban consumers, therefore rural food producers can’t make enough money, or raise prices to feed themselves.  Some observers also include agribusiness in this list.

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        Such people argue that in some cases agribusiness is, to some extent, responsible for food crisis, both creating and sustaining it.  These arguments are on the whole based on situations in the South, where traditionally land that can be farmed is done so by small scale local farmers to feed the local population.  In fact 75% of people in most African countries depend on the land for a living.  The problem lies in that large scale agribusiness operations leaves locals without fertile land to feed their families.  Some may claim that locals can make wages from agribusiness to purchase food, ...

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