AGRIBUSINESS

Agribusiness means agriculture for commercial purpose. Johnston and colleagues have defined agri-business as farming organisation applying modern management techniques and accounting methods with the aim of maximising final profit. The concept is applied differently in USA and Western Europe. In USA, agribusiness has grown as a result of increased involvement by food processing companies in the actual production of their own raw material inputs. Such companies have purchased farms and run them as subsidiary elements within their overall production system, while in Western Europe such integration of farm production with processing is less common. In Western Europe and also in some developing countries like India, agribusiness constitutes large farming companies independent of food processors. But there are certain characteristics which are common to all agribusiness. More specifically, that part of modern national economy devoted to production, processing, and distribution of food and fibre products and by-products falls under the category of agribusiness.