Get an MBA in agribusiness to beat the recession blues.
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Land, our forefathers would have told us, is like a pot of gold. Management students — hit by recession — tend to agree. In times when the finance sector has taken a beating and marketing isn’t the hottest of options, there is one specialisation that is recession proof — agribusiness. For people still need to eat.

An MBA in agribusiness is an extension of the standard business degree and, apart from regular management topics, offers students a chance to learn about public policy, business models, agribusiness marketing and the basics of agricultural economics. This degree ensures a job, especially now that some companies are trying to organise the massive unorganised agriculture sector in accordance with central and state guidelines. Of course, it helps if you have a degree or some prior exposure to agriculture.

“Students who seek admission to this course are generally graduates in agriculture or allied fields such as food technology, or have a natural inclination for the business,” says Avinash Purandhare, deputy director of the Symbiosis Institute of International Business (SIIB), which offers an MBA in agribusiness.

Anil K. Gupta, professor at the centre of management in agriculture, the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, believes the field has a lot to offer students. “The primary intention of our programme is to prepare students for careers related to food, agribusiness and rural and microfinance sectors. However, the best part of this programme is that it promotes entrepreneurship,” he says.

Amartya Guha, a first-year student of SIIB, opted for an MBA in agribusiness as he knew that it would ensure him a job. “With agriculture contributing 25 per cent of the gross domestic product, I think agribusiness is a good subject to study. Especially now, when multinational companies are taking an interest in and the government promoting this sector. That apart, this is a sector that will always be in demand in India, recession or no recession.”

Experts tend to agree with this view. “Today, there are many job profiles that are offered exclusively to agribusiness graduates. Depending on one’s capabilities, one can reach the top in companies engaged in food and agriculture-related businesses — agri-inputs, machinery, agri-finance, insurance, food processing and food service, retail, trade, commodity futures and so on,” says Sushil Kumar, who teaches food and agribusiness management at IIM, Lucknow.

Students are taught various aspects of the subject, including agri-economics (which helps one understand concepts such as of demand and supply as well as pricing issues), agri-output marketing (selling food grains, edible oils, fruits, vegetables, poultry and dairy products), agri-machinery (marketing tractors, shredders and food-processing machinery), agri-finance (managing the finance and accounts of an agribusiness) and agri-inputs (marketing seeds, fertilisers and pesticides).

Students learn a whole range of subjects — from developing new products to marketing — and the in-depth knowledge acquired makes it easier for them to get jobs. And, the experts add, there is no shortage of jobs. According to Nilesh Vira, vice- chairman of the Indian Oilseeds and Produce Exporters Association, Mumbai, an export promotion council under the ministry of commerce, almost all agribusiness MBAs land good jobs. “As an industry observer, I have seen member companies of IOPEA take in such graduates readily. And the demand for agribusiness MBAs will only keep increasing as agri-based products will always be in vogue.”

For admission to an MBA in agribusiness programme, a candidate has to first crack either the common aptitude test (CAT) or the Symbiosis National Aptitude Test (SNAP). For a successful career in agricultural business, a person needs basic business skills, as well as the ability to understand agricultural systems and processes.

“A fresher from a good institute can earn between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 6 lakh per annum,” says Purandhare. “A mid-level manager can earn above Rs 9 lakh a year.”

So with a job guaranteed, a degree in agribusiness seems to be the best thing to invest in. For, land will always yield gold.

Sources: The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)

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