Agrochemical Transnational Corporations
The concentration of corporate power in food and agriculture is enormous. With this power, they effectively dictate what gets planted on farms, what goes into your plate and what is absorbed by your body . The small scale farmers, agricultural workers, Indigenous Peoples, rural communities, consumers and other sectors have no effective participation in the process.
Through calculated mergers and acquisitions of agrochemical companies and seed companies in the last 40 years, the top six corporations - BASF, Bayer, Dow, DuPont, Monsanto and Syngenta - emerged stronger and more powerful. In 2007, the agrochemical market was estimated to worth USD 38.6 billion with six corporations controlling 75% of the global pesticide market. In the same year, the top ten seed companies control 67% of the proprietary seed market valued at USD 26 billion. With this financial clout, it is easier for them to dictate trade policies and the agricultural research agenda, to make regulation favourable to them or evade accountability for human rights violations.
This consolidation of the entire food chain is not limited by national boundaries nor regulated by governments. The scope is global. These corporations operate with ease across borders facilitated by international institutions or organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) as well as through bilateral or free trade agreements between countries.
Corporate Profiles
