This book analyzes global economic policies that impact rural communities, land use, food sovereignty and environmental justice. This is the 9th book in the Critical Development Studies series. It traces the global contours of contemporary agriculture, bringing a critical analysis of the origins of agribusiness in the US and its subsequent international signature. The investigation reveals that the industrialization of agriculture was a result of a dialectical movement of economic crisis and expansion, and the author's analysis sheds new light on current debates about food sovereignty, agriculture technologies, international financial markets and farmland speculation. For those who are new to the study of agribusiness, this book provides a clear introduction to global trends. For those more engaged, it serves as a valuable overview, an excellent text for students involved in studies of agriculture and food sovereignty.

“The Political Economy of Agribusiness by Maria Luisa Mendonça is a brilliantly written small book about a huge issue confronting humanity: agribusiness — and how it causes social problems such as land grabbing, inequality and exploitation, and provokes resistance. It is a must-read for academics and activists alike.”

— Saturnino M. Borras Jr., International Institute of Social Studies (iss), Netherlands

“The concept of “agronegócio” is not just a translation of “agribusiness” to Portuguese. It has been a political construction, based on a narrative of modern technology, appropriation of public resources and concentration of land and wealth. Mendonça’s book critically explores this historical construction in dialogue with political economy and critical agrarian studies. A piece worth reading to better understand inequality, injustice, power relations and monopoly of wealth, as well as social resistance and land struggles in contemporary Brazil.”

— Sergio Sauer, professor of environment and rural development at the University of Brasilia (fup/unb) and faculty member of the Centre for Sustainable Development (cds) and master’s in Sustainability with Traditional Peoples and Lands

Maria Luisa Mendonça