ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explains agro-neoliberalism and its contradictory outcomes and begins with a broad discussion of the capitalisation of agriculture and agro-neoliberalism, before moving on to focus specifically on Brazilian agribusiness, and on economic and spatial aspects of the agricultural frontier in Mato Grosso and in new soybean production areas. The book situates the discussion in the context of a growing agri-food crisis ultimately caused by the transformation of agriculture into agribusiness. It considers the academic tradition of studying the relationship between agriculture and capitalism, focusing on issues like agrarian disputes, the Green Revolution, the concept of food regimes and the transition to post-productivist agriculture. The book examines two of the most relevant alternatives to agribusiness — namely, agroecology and food sovereignty. It presents the conceptual references of this study needed to connect changes at local and farm level with wider national and international forces.
