Agriculture/Business=Agribusiness

Agriculture

What is sustainable agriculture? It is an environmental friendly system or way of producing food without damaging the world and at the same time, it is healthier for us. The objective of sustainable agriculture is to gratify human food and fiber needs, improve environmental value and the natural resource base that agriculture economy depends on, make the most resourceful use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources, and increase the excellence of life for farmers and society as a whole. Sustainable agriculture seeks to accomplish three key goals which are economic effectiveness, environmental excellence, and community accountability. sustainable agriculture can be achieved completely, but we can get close to it. As the society, we need to focus on what we can do as an individual or as a whole in order to reach the sustainable agriculture goal. We want to find better techniques and methods so we can stop producing, cultivating, etc. in ways that damage our environment and our ecosystem.

What is sustainable agriculture in Africa?

What is the mixture of agriculture and business? Agribusiness.

Business

A business can be sustainable if it has adapted to the use of renewable resources such as energy, water, paper, ect. At the same time, a sustainable business must operate in a socially responsible workplace while still protecting the environment. Some examples include: facilities efficiencies (water, raw materials, etc), material and process improvements, supply chain efficiencies, products or services that are more efficient, recycling, telecommuting, and optimizing of any resource use.

With the problems in society, such as global warming and high oil prices, more and more businesses have started to adopt principles of sustainability within their business. One of the places we don’t really think about sustainable business development

is in Africa. Despite being provided with immense natural and human resources, sustained economic development in much of Africa has proved to be hard to define. According to INSEAD Business in Society Centre, Niger’s literacy rate is 17%; Liberia has three phone landlines per 1,000 inhabitants; only 22% of Ethiopians have access to clean water; in Mali almost half of 10-14 year-olds work; and Ethiopia’s and Brundi’s Gross National Income (GNI) are a low US $90. The rapid spread of HIV and AIDS, insufficient aid and investments flows, weak commodity prices lack of trade opportunities weaken the progress in business in recent years. Even though aid flows and debt relief have somewhat uplifted economic growth, reducing poverty remains a challenge.

As mentioned by Royal Dutch Shell’s Chief Executive, Jeroen van der Veer, “Business is the real poverty killer”. Africa is bursting with independent entrepreneurs and all they need is a little boost to help them make great gains. If this can be accomplished, then their markets can flourish but an entrepreneurial spirit is needed along with a level playing field for business.

Agribusiness

What happens when you combine the aspects of agriculture and business? The result is the idea of Agribusiness. Agribusiness is a term that refers to the various businesses involved in food production, including farming, seed supply, agrichemicals (various chemical products used in agriculture), farm machinery, wholesale and distribution, processing, marketing, and retail sales.

In Africa, there is a more positive side to its development which has lately been overlooked. The economic growth in Africa has averaged to about five percent each year over the last seven years. According to New Agriculturist 2008, in 2007, growth was over six percent and is expected to rise in 2008. Agriculture and agro-industry are key elements towards African economy in terms of GDP, employment, food security and trade. In a movement towards a more favorable business environment, African producers, processors and traders are increasingly making their way into sustainable business development. Even though the number of business success may not yet be noticed enough, this inspires hope that better management and demand for commodities will boost further growth expansion of agribusiness across the African continent and it’s citizens. In hopes of expanding agribusiness in Africa, there will be an Agribusiness Forum 2008 which leaders will have an opportunity to catch the world’s attention towards Africa by highlighting the latest trends, technologies and best practices that are transforming Africa’s agribusiness sectors.

Info on Green Revolution

special issue on Farm Management and the Environment in the Journal of Environmental Management

What is Agribusiness

agroecology

community supported agriculture

Agribusiness in Africa

CSA bibliography from the alternative farming information systems group

st. pete times reports on local CSA farm

A Roadmap for Natural Capitalism in this article, initially published in the Harvard Business Review and later revised into a book, the authors suggest that if we can begin to pay more attention to the whole than to the parts that make up the whole, we can find new solutions to older problems and find otherwise unknowable sources of economic value. Rather than a limit on profitable practice, here, sustainability is offered as a framework that allows one to locate "free energy" in any given system, market, corporation, etc.

Google search - Great google search on aribusiness developemtn in Africa

Sustainable Business in Africa Resources:

Project Round Table

INSEAD Business in Society Centre 

Business: the real poverty killer - Sustainable development in Africa

All Africa

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