Agribusiness is diversifying at a rapid pace. Dr Asmita Chitnis tells you the benefits of pursuing anMBA in this field
In its early days agriculture was regarded as just cultivating and growing crops. Fertile land had one purpose only — the yield it could produce for consumption. Over time the approach towards agriculture progressively shifted to a business-oriented one, making it one of the biggest and busiest commercial ecosystems in all of the world.
Agriculture plays an instrumental role in the economic development of a country. Advanced countries attribute a notable portion of their progress to this sector. In developing countries like India, the role of agriculture is even more critical. Allied sectors such as fisheries and forestry are also major contributors to the country’s GDP. According to the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) report.
We are a country of farmers. The economic and societal value of agriculture in our country is unparalleled. The sector employs about 65 per cent of the workforce of our nation, and yet the contribution to GDP is a disappointing 17.5 per cent.
Such a complex situation has given rise to the need for a strategic approach to managing agricultural resources. Thus, an aspect of management specific to agricultural was designed, bringing about programs like MBA in agribusiness management. At its essence, agribusiness can be described as the following statement — the farmer works the soil, the manager works the produce.
With the Indian terrain hosting all kinds of climates and geographies, the same type of crops display differing principal characteristics. This makes agribusiness a highly diversified business sector as per the website Your Story. It revolves around stages such as input, production, processing, manufacturing, transport, and marketing. It has a tremendous influence on other big industries. The service and manufacturing sectors have increasingly contributed to the growth of the economy.
The mass diversity in agricultural productivity across the country depends on a number of disparate factors. This requires managers who are capable of analysing the challenges of this sector and have an insight into strategic solutions. Financial aspects such as access to agricultural credit and crop insurance, assurance of remunerative prices for agricultural produce, and storage and marketing infrastructure also factor into decision making in this sector.
The study of agribusiness management equips incumbents to focus on bettering areas of agricultural input supply, agricultural production, commodity assembly and processing, and agricultural marketing organisations. Management and marketing of agricultural products like crops and livestock are vital for sustainable development of our economy. With resource management, conservation of crops, and commercialisation of agriculture, agribusiness boosts productivity, and profits.
Agribusiness managers are skilled with managing and organising the entire process of getting food items from the farm, to food processors, to branded companies and packaging, to food retailers, and ultimately to the end consumer according to website MBA central.
This path from farm to table is analysed through multiple lenses such as consumer trends, public policy, and legislation, technological innovations, and food safety. Agribusiness managers help optimise our food distribution system which has a significant impact on the livelihoods and health of people nationwide. Their skill and education empowers them to have a tangible effect on the food production and distribution systems of our economy.
Today the management of agriculture addresses the need for sustainable growth. According to UC Davis, this integrates three main objectives: maintaining a healthy environment, achieving economic profitability, and social, economic equity. The food system involves many stakeholders right from farmers, food processors, distributors, retailers, and consumers. All of them play an essential role in the system.
Farmers employ many methods to promote soil health, minimise water use, and lower pollution levels. Consumers and retailers focussed on sustainability look for value-based foods that are farmer and environment-friendly, and contribute to the economy.
Agribusiness managers are responsible for bringing all this together as well as participating in negotiations to balance competing interests of farmers and people of the community to solve complex agriculture problems about how we grow our food and fiber.
The writer is Director, Symbiosis Institute of International Business