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What the Indian Agri industry expects from new Agri managers

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The transformations in India’s agricultural sector in the last two decades have been unprecedented. While new innovations, methods, and technologies continue to emerge in the agriculture space, what is more instructive is the new crop of Agri managers who are flooding the industry. The task ahead is clear; to transform India into the food basket of the world, by improving on its already impressive global profile in terms of production and exports- which has put the nation on a strong pedestal.

To put things in perspective, about three quarters of Indian families rely on rural incomes, the most important of which is agriculture. New Agri managers must, therefore, ensure infrastructure is in place for the modern agriculture with all support of latest technology and logistics so that farmers can do farming with ease and make agriculture profitable. Other challenges that are required to be addressed include rural poverty which needs to be reduced, and food security which must align with increasing productivity. For this to happen, new managers will have to rise up to the challenge and do things differently. Their first and the foremost objective should be the well-being of the farmers and how ever possible should bring some resort to the farmers for uplifting their standard of life.

Responding to an evolving landscape

The world is changing and these changes have an effect on several industries, including agriculture. Therefore, new Agri managers must understand rapidly changing industry trends and adapt effectively. First and foremost, treating agriculture as a business informs the mindset that more can be done with less. This involves agribusiness management education which brings together the principles of agriculture, business & economics and management. It is vital for new Agri managers to undergo this learning process to be better equipped for the job.

There is a need for an upgrade of the processes, beginning from seed procurement and land preparation, down to planting, harvesting and selling the produce. All the other important activities like weed and pest/disease control must also be upgraded and most importantly communicated to the farmers. To do this effectively, managers need to embrace latest education and latest update on international technology trends. Taking a course, embarking on an internship, or even reading up on new advances in agriculture can go a long way. A typical example is understanding the best solutions for the crop protection & nutrition.

Furthermore, there are also new trends arising from the sustainability agenda. Water preservation has become another important subject of advocacy. Hence, new managers should learn and work on educating how to use least possible water on their farms for their crops, while also leveraging recycling. Added to this is the need to begin to adopt green and sustainable practices that drastically reduce carbon emissions and damage to the soil. The Indian agricultural sector is relying on these new managers to embrace such sustainable methods to protect the environment.

Technology adoption is another important component that new Agri managers are expected to embrace. From data analytics and e-commerce to artificial intelligence and virtual reality, the possibilities are endless if technology is adopted in agriculture. Drones and robotics are other areas that can be explored to reduce human interference and cut down labor costs as much as possible.

On a final note…

It is not enough for Agri managers to learn new trends, methods, and technologies, they also have to be smart in order to key into the growth agenda of the government. It is important that they identify and focus on higher value commodities which can easily shore up the economics of their communities and increase government revenues. There are also commodities that offer greater potential for growth, one of which is dairy. New Agri managers can begin to look into such areas and invest in places where they see potential and future benefits for themselves and the country at large.

 

(This article is written by Mr. Rajesh Aggarwal, Managing Director, Insecticides (India) Limited, and the views expressed in this article are his own)

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