The changing agribusiness climate: Corporate concentration, agricultural inputs, innovation, and climate change

Abstract

For the world’s leading agribusinesses, climate change represents both a threat and an opportunity. The threat, of course, is the uncertainty of crop growing conditions and that supply chains won’t be able to adjust and deliver inputs of seeds, pesticides, and fertilizers where and when they can be sold. There are two theoretical solutions. The traditional genetics response is to enlarge research to diversify crop and livestock species and to adapt other inputs as/if needed. Alternatively, agribusiness can opt for a different kind of diversification, expanding the limited—but tried and true—repertoire of crops and livestock to more markets on the assumption that they will have sufficient varietal/breed diversity “through time and space” to grow something without upsetting the food/feed processors and retailers.

Keywords

• agricultural biodiversity agroecology
• big data
• climate change
• climate-smart agriculture
• corporate concentration
• crops
• genetic diversity
• industrial food chain
• innovation
• livestocks
• oligopoly
• peasant food web
• seeds