Agribusiness Management

India is Agriculture dominant country with well developed agriculture based industries. Agribusiness encompasses production, transformation / value adding, distribution and retailing of food, fibre and associated products. Indian food and Agri sector is set to triple from US $328 to US $895 Billion. Huge opportunities in Agribusiness are attracting investments in primary production as well as on the output side in food processing and distribution.

Growth in agribusiness industry is mainly fuelled by sustained economic growth, rising per capita income, urbanization and globalization, integration of the global food value chain, improvement in infrastructure for storage & transportation. All the Agri based industries that are moving on a high growth trajectory are demanding more capable people to manage growth. To meet the demand for Agribusiness professionals many renowned management schools have initiated Agribusiness Management program. MBA Agribusiness are employed by top FMCG companies beside government organisations such as NABARD, FCI, FACT, NAFED, JAKFED and other departments under ministry of agriculture. In my opinion MBA Agribusiness graduates have more job opportunities and career growth in comparison to M.Sc Agriculture grads.

Agri-business explores the production, marketing and trading of products related to agriculture. The MBA programme also covers improved growing techniques, agricultural machinery, fertiliser, pesticides pre- and post- harvest handling, storage, transportation, packaging and labelling. Critical management issues as financing and technical assistance, preparation of products for exports, overseas marketing issues and government policy are also an integral part of the programme.

Some of the optional courses offered in an Agri-Business Management Programme are Agricultural Finance/Banking, Agro Processing, International Agriculture and Trade Policy, Logistics and Infrastructure Management in Agriculture, Marketing of Agricultural Inputs, Management of Technology for Sustainable Agriculture, Rural Advertising etc.

Career Options:

• Marketing manager
• Agribusiness Research Analyst
• Agricultural commodities
• Meat marketing manager
• Flour mill manager
• Agricultural loan officer
• Grain merchandiser

Career Prospects: A non-corporate sector like agriculture now is in urgent need of young & dynamic managers and entrepreneurs for improving its performance. If you have a passion for this sector and are armed with an MBA in Agribusiness Management, then the time is right for you to make it big in this industry. The agriculture scene in India is rapidly evolving and fresh agricultural graduates who have been trained in various management strategies are in great demand.

There a lot of agro-based companies which have come up in the last decade which have shifted their focus from a traditional production-oriented approach to a market-oriented one. Such companies also need qualified graduates for efficient management. There has been substantial value-addition in agri-products, standardisation of the value chain, a growing interest of the private sector in the primary sector, integration of agriculture with the input supply industry as well as with processing, distribution and marketing. 

All the best.