Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit while satisfying the needs of consumers for products related to natural resources. Agribusinesses comprise farms, food and fiber processing, forestry, fisheries, biotechnology and biofuel enterprises and their input suppliers.

Studies of business growth and performance in farming have found that successful agricultural businesses are cost-efficient internally and operate in favourable economic, political, and physical-organic environments. They are able to expand and make profits, improve the productivity of land, labor, and capital, and keep their costs down to ensure market price competitiveness.

Agribusiness is not limited to farming. It encompasses a broader spectrum through the agribusiness system which includes input supplies, value-addition, marketing, entrepreneurship, microfinancing, and agricultural extension.

In some countries like the Philippines, creation and management of agribusiness enterprises require consultation with registered agriculturists above a certain level of operations, capitalization, land area, or number of animals in the farm.

The word "agribusiness" is a portmanteau of the words agriculture and business. The earliest known use of the word was in the Volume 155 of the Canadian Almanac & Directory published in 1847. Although most practitioners recognize that it was coined in 1957 by two Harvard Business School professors, John Davis and Ray Goldberg after they published the book "A Concept of Agribusiness."

"Agribusiness is the sum total of all operations involved in the manufacture and distribution of farm supplies; production operations on the farm; and the storage, processing, and distribution of farm commodities and items made from them." (Davis and Goldberg, 1956)

Their book argued against the New Deal programs of then U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt as it led to the increase in agricultural prices. Davis and Goldberg favored corporate-driven agriculture or large-scale farming to revolutionize the agriculture sector, lessening the dependency on state power and politics. They explained in the book that vertically integrated firms within the agricultural value chains have the ability to control prices and where they are distributed. Goldberg then assisted in the establishment of the first undergraduate program in agribusiness in 1966 at the UP College of Agriculture in Los Baños, Philippines as Bachelor of Science in Agriculture major in Agribusiness. The program was initially a joint undertaking with the UP College of Business Administration in Diliman, Quezon City until 1975. Jose D. Drilon of the University of the Philippines then published the book "Agribusiness Management Resource Materials" (1971) which would be the foundation of current agribusiness programs around the world. In 1973, Drilon and Goldberg further expanded the concept of agribusiness to include support organizations such as governments, research institutions, schools, financial institutions, and cooperatives within the integrated Agribusiness System.

Mark R. Edwards and Clifford J. Shultz II (2005) of Loyola University Chicago reframed the definition of agribusiness to emphasize its lack of focus on farm production but towards market centricity and innovative approach to serve consumers worldwide.