WANT FAST GROWTH? AGRI-TECH IS BACK IN A BIG WAY!

DIPAL GALA

What exactly is a career in the agrispace like, what are the industries that look like sunrise industries in this space? Career in agrispace is probably the most divergent compared to other domains. For the right candidate the employers range from the government, non-profit organizations and private industry including multinational companies. One could continue with academics and get employed by government as agriculture / horticulture / extension officer, research scientist, assistant professor etc. One can also choose enriching careers with not-forprofit organizations. The many sub-sectors / industry (for -profit) that offer careers in agrispace include: 1. Agri-inputs industry (e.g. seeds, fertilizers, agrochemicals, irrigation, farm machinery, agribiotech, poultry feed, dairy feed, aqua and fishery feed and equipment, food ingredients etc) 2. Production and industry (e.g. FCI, NCMSL, NBHC, state and central warehousing corporations, floriculture and greenhouses, etc) 3. Agri-finance industry (e.g. Crop and weather insurance, micro finance, priority sector lending operations) 4. Trading industry (e.g. procurement of edible oils, grains, spices, fruits and vegetables, meat and aqua; exports and imports, etc) 5. Processing industry (e.g. primary processing - milling, edible oils, dairy, fruits and vegetables, sugar; high value processing - confectionary, bakery, beverages, dair,y etc) 6. Food Retail and food services (e.g. super markets, hyper markets, fast food and beverage chains) In our opinion Farm Machinery, Agri-logistics, Energy (Biofuels), and Seed Industry are the potential sectors that increasingly will offer interesting options. What is the education track like? Which are the reputed institutes in this area? Which are the degrees to pursue? Is it essential to study management to add to the science base? Are we in India well connected with institutes worldwide in this space? Basically three education tracts exist: 1. Immediately after graduation in Agriculture and Allied fields, major streams of candidates pursue jobs with Banks and Input Companies. 2. Second, a stream of graduates pursues post graduation (and some continue for doctoral degree) to make career in Research (Government and Private Companies); Academics and various sub-sectors mentioned earlier. Many of them attempt at Civil Service exams. 3. Third, another stream of graduates pursues management courses and typically make career with Indian and Multinational companies across mentioned sectors; these candidates are favored by MNC's and are accorded a senior designation compared to their peers who do not hold a management degree. For pursuing Post graduation / Management the following are the major institutes: Post Graduation in Agriculture / Allied Sciences: IARI, IVRI, IIHM, G B Pant Agriculture University, Punjab Agriculture University, CFTRI, NDRI, University of Agriculture Sciences etc. Management in Agriculture: IIM (Ahmadabad), IRMA, MANAGE (Hyderabad), NIAM (Jaipur), IIFM (Bhopal), Indian Institute of Plantation Management (Bangalore), XIM (Bhubaneswar); There are recent entrants in to the filed like NAARM

(Hyderabad) and Food and Agri Business School (Hyderabad).

We believe Management degree is not really a must have (at this juncture) given the large demand for an agriculture and allied sciences graduate; however, pursuing a

management degree will almost always result in a better and enriching career.

While there are certain associations with reputed institutes like Wageningen University etc we believe there is a large scope for strengthening education and research ties with Israel, Netherlands and US institutes.
What are the career options after study, in the corporate and entrepreneurial space? Can you give examples of industries that hire agri-graduates and the total demand in the next 10 years? Career options include a vast array of choices in corporate space. We believe gaining some experience in the industry before taking up entrepreneurial ventures will go a long way in increasing the success rate. Some examples of industries that hire agri-graduates are: Agri-Finance Industry (e.g. SBI, Andhra Bank, Syndicate Bank etc) Agri-Inputs Industry (e.g. Coromandel Fertilizers, Pioneer Seeds, Sinochem, Syngenta etc) Warehousing Industry (e.g. NCMSL, NBHC etc) Trading Industry (e.g. ITC, Cargill etc) Processing Industry (e.g. Reliance, Heritage etc)

Given the dynamic and evolving nature of the industry, we may not be able to place a clear estimate, however according to a study - Human Resource Development for Agriculture Sector in India; by 2020 the total stock of agriculture human resources will be 474,000 and private sector (including corporate) will account for lions share (~42% ) of the employment. The report further forecasts that the demand for agriculture human resource in 2020 will be around 15000.
What are the sunrise industries other than seed companies, genomics etc? In our opinion Farm Machinery, Agri-logistics, Energy (Biofuels), and Seed Industry are the potential sectors that increasingly will offer interesting options.