The Financialization of Agriculture and Food in the Context of the Neoliberal Restructuring: Primary Characteristics and Basic Contradictions

This article examines the dynamics and characteristics of the macro-process of financialization of agriculture and food. It refers to the rapid growth of the financial sector and the concomitant trend towards the securitization of economic activities, that is, the process that reduces the entire value of the economy to financial instruments. Having pointed out the basic components of the financialization of agri-food, this article proposes the hypothesis that the evolution of the sector is largely directed by a group of actors operating within the financial sector. The article concludes that the solutions to current problems and the analysis of the agri-food sector require attention to its financial dimension.