Agricultural Economics.

Just as in every other human endeavor, the production and distribution of foodstuffs adheres to certain basic economic principles. Unlike other kinds of competitive markets, though, the dynamics of supply and demand for agricultural goods do not always optimize resource allocation or maximize productive capacity. The most vexing problem here has to do with pricing. Left to its own devices, a commodity market regularly pays out a return that does not even cover the farmer's production costs. Truly efficient farming these days is also far more capital-intensive than it is labor-intensive. Profitability largely depends on successfully leveraging ever larger economies-of-scale and more cost-effective technology. Yet, most of the world's farmers still till small plots by hand.