International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 4, Issue 2, February 2014 1

ISSN 2250-3153
www.ijsrp.org
Agribusiness Management Education: A Review on
Employment Opportunities
Shoji Lal Bairwa
1
, Abhishek Kalia, L. K. Meena, Kerobim Lakra and Saket Kushwaha
2


Department of Agricultural Economics, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005

Abstract- Agribusiness management education is a discipline of
blend of economic, agriculture, business (commerce) and
management principles. Agribusiness management field is of
very recent origin and gaining rapid popularity among students
as carrier choice. The agribusiness program is planned to develop
management workforce to cater agricultural Industry which
serves as a good option for the students willing to perform in
corporate sector. Agribusiness management education has great
opportunities of employment for agrigraduates in private,
governmental and cooperative sector. Agribusiness students can
get jobs for various posts such as sales executives, credit officers,
agri experts, warehousing managers, financing officers, food
managers and logistic managers in national and Multinational
Corporation. Agribusiness professionals have bright future in
academic field due to new emerging discipline and lack of
agribusiness faculty in the country. Agribusiness sector also
helps in fighting against the Poverty, Hunger, Malnutrition and
unemployment situations in the economy. This review paper
explores the potential opportunities in agribusiness management
education which helps in employment generation and
entrepreneurship development. Thus, Agribusiness management
sector will change more in the next decade than it did in the last
century.

I ndex Terms- Agribusiness Education, Agribusiness Students,
Employment opportunities and Entrepreneurship Development

I. INTRODUCTION
he term Agribusiness was first introduced by Davis and
Goldberg in 1957in a paper presented at the Boston
Conference on Distribution as the sum total of all operations
involved in the production and distribution of food and fiber,
which described three interdependent sectors in a global food
system. It represents a three-part system made up of (i) the
agricultural input sector, (ii) the production sector and (iii) the
processing-manufacturing sector (Sonka and Hudson, 1989).
Agribusiness is the business of agricultural production. It
includes crop production, seed supply, agrochemicals, farm
machinery, distribution, processing, marketing and retailing of
agricultural produce to ultimate consumers. Agribusiness is used
simply as a portmanteau of agriculture and business within the
agriculture industry, referring to the range of activities and
disciplines encompassed by modern food production
(www.wikipedia.com). Agribusiness has evolved from
agriculture and has become a vast and complex system that
reaches for beyond the farm to include all those who are involved
in bringing food and fiber to consumers. Agribusiness include
not only those that farm the land but also the people and firms
that provide the inputs (Seed, chemicals, credit), process the
output (Milk, grain, meat), manufacture the food products (ice
cream, bread, breakfast cereals), and transport and sell the food
products to consumers (restaurants, supermarkets). Agribusiness
system has undergone a rapid transformation as new industries
have evolved and traditional farming operations have grown
larger and more specialized (Baruah, 2008 and Bairwa et al.,
2012). A company that is doing business transactions with
farmers also come under the agri business sector. These
transactions may be either in the form of products or even
services. Similarly suggestions or consultancies for agriculture,
seeds, pesticides, supplying agriculture equipment all come
under agri business. In the same way providing loans to
agriculture, agriculture insurance, stocking agri products,
transportation, packing, processing, and distribution also come
under the same sector (Sunitha, 2009). The policy of
liberalization and the establishment of WTO have created more
opportunities for globalizing agriculture and allied sector. The
agribusiness sector encompasses the many activities of
agricultural sector under one umbrella like integration of
agricultural inputs, agricultural productions, agro processing,
agricultural marketing and trade which add value to the
agricultural produce (Bairwa et al., 2012). Agribusiness is thus a
term used for farming plus all the other industries and services
that constitute the supply chain from farm through processing,
wholesaling and retailing to the consumer.

II. IMPORTANCE OF AGRIBUSINESS MANAGEMENT
The commercial agriculture and agribusiness calls for
specialized production, postharvest management, expansion of
processing, transportation, packaging activities and positioning
of products both in the domestic as well as international markets.
Agribusiness was widely recognized as an important new field
during the 1980s when its unique characteristics and needs were
described by agricultural economists (Bairwa et al., 2014). Sonka
(1989) highlighted five ways agribusinesses may be different
from other types of firms: 1) the unique cultural, institutional and
political aspects, 2) the uncertainty from production, 3) the
alternative goals and forms of political intervention, 4) the public
sectors contribution toward development of technology, and 5)
the variety of competitive structures in the agribusiness sector
(Larson, 2013). Agriculture is rapidly changing into a business
opportunity and with these trends after harvesting the crop by
following technical methods for processing, packaging and
transportation the food is being exported to the national and
international markets. However by not taking appropriate
T

International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 4, Issue 2, February 2014 2
ISSN 2250-3153
www.ijsrp.org
measures in our country almost every year 20 to 30 percent of the
crop produce is being wasted due to reasons like floods, pests
insects, improper handling, storage, processing, and
transportation of agricultural produce and due to not using proper
methods at the time of reaping the crops. In the same way
vegetables and fruits are also 30 percent being wasted due to lack
of processing and storage facilities. However with changes in
business policies and international business organizations
entering into the food processing market of India there is an
overall boost to the agriculture sector in the country. With the
application of advanced technology and managerial skills, many
people are investing in poultry, aqua, processing of fruits and
vegetables in our country which is turning out into a profitable
business. As a result people are made investment in production,
transportation, processing and marketing field. Moreover
agribusiness management is very important for developing
countries like India to capitalize on the benefits of globalization
and face new challenges to enhance their economy growth.
Government, private and other organizations are looking forward
for qualified agribusiness managers and the agricultural
universities and other agricultural education institutions have
taken up the responsibility of providing qualified human
resources for agribusiness industry training students with the
required business management skills (Sunitha, 2009). Food
consumption is also leading the boom in agriculture and
agribusiness sector. India is expected to overtake China as the
worlds largest nation. With the worlds youngest population,
food and Agri sector is set to triple by 2020 from US $328 to US
$895 Billion in just six years from now (Bairwa et al., 2013).
Huge opportunities in Agribusiness are attracting investments in
primary production as well as on the output side in food
processing and distribution. Organized retail is growing at 35%
CAGR and so many input industries, all of whom are demanding
more capable people to manage growth. This growth will
invariably cause major structural shifts in the management of
agribusiness enterprises and also will throw up a million
opportunities beginning with the agglomeration of land, most
likely via lease arrangements with the intent of improving
production efficiencies resulting in expansion of the farm
mechanization business, micro irrigation, reorganization of
supply chains, investments in food processing, cold chains and
agri infrastructure, to name a few (Puri, 2012). There are a
growing number of new companies in the Billion Dollar plus
club in the area of processed foods, beverages, nutrition and the
plantation sector. Inputs and farm mechanization have several
such companies signalling interest in agribusiness and appetite
for investment in this sector. Agriculture and allied sector has
achieved satisfactory growth since last few decades, but
presently due to the various factors the agricultural growth is
relatively stagnated (Pandey and Tewari, 2010). The reports from
various sources always reveals about the bottlenecks from the
sector which put us back in terms of its growth and development.
The up gradation of agriculture is needed right from harvesting
of agriculture crops till it reaches at consumer fork. Majority of
the farmers and small entrepreneurs are not well versed about
standard practices required during pre-harvest as well as post-
harvest operations, which undoubtedly plays a vital role in
overall productivity. In addition to these, growing global
population has resulted into disparity between market demand
and supply side of agricultural produce. There is need a market
and consumer oriented education system which fulfills the
objective of the growth and development of the economy through
the income and employment generation. In Agriculture education
system, agribusiness management discipline is recent origin and
gaining rapid popularity among students and academician. The
agribusiness program is planned to develop management
workforce to cater agricultural Industry which serves as a good
option for the students willing to perform in corporate sector
(Sunitha, 2009). A proper management of all the agribusiness
activities right from planting the seed to getting the actual reward
at market place is required. These issues are expected to be
addressed by management education in agricultural sector which
certainly has hidden potential of creating second wave of
agricultural revolution.

III. EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN AGRIBUSINESS
MANAGEMENT
In the era of privatization and globalization major structural
reforms are taking place in the agricultural sector. India is on the
threshold of Green revolution. Commercialization of agriculture,
animal husbandry, dairying, fisheries and allied sectors are taking
place at a faster pace in the country. National agriculture policy,
agricultural reforms like public private partnerships, market lead
extension programmes and agricultural technology management
programmes envisage market centred production programmes in
agriculture and allied sectors to attain sustainability. This fact
that food security issues are emerging over the globe, we needed
standardized practices for food safety, packaging, quality control,
HACCP. To achieving the above envisaged objectives,
technocrats endowed with relevant management skills and
experience are essential which paved the way for starting the
Agribusiness Management programmes for critical management
and entrepreneurial competencies to agricultural graduates for
enabling them to own and manage Agribusiness enterprises of
global standards. Thus, agribusiness managers have great
opportunities in agriculture production, agricultural marketing,
food processing, supply chain, dairying and retailing sector in
national and Multinational Corporation. These MNCs are very
interested to investment in industries like agrochemical, organic
farming, cattle feed industry, horticultural based industries,
poultry, plantation, agroforestry, and ayurvedic industry in order
to exploit the potentials of market access in India.
Today Indias agriculture has become globalised and the
idea of integrating Indian agriculture with the world economy is
getting support. India has enormous potential as an exporter of
agricultural commodities ranging from mushrooms to flowers,
spices, cereals, oilseeds and vegetables. The spurt in government
support for export of agri-products has evoked considerable
interest among the large business houses which have worked out
agreements for technology transfer, marketing tie-ups, and
management and trading contacts with leading foreign
counterparts. Horticulture with its offshoot floriculture has
become a focus of export activity. Indias exports of roses,
carnations, gladioli, chrysanthemums, jasmine and other tropical
plants and flowers are touching new heights. This situation
creates employment opportunities in the economy directly and
indirectly. There are varied opportunities for salaried jobs and
International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 4, Issue 2, February 2014 3
ISSN 2250-3153
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entrepreneurship in agriculture and horticulture sector.
Landscapers and horticulturists are hired by hotels, health farms,
and holiday resorts to beautify their surroundings. Florists and
nurseries managers are doing lucrative business especially in the
metropolitan cities. Agribusiness management is one of the
courses having more opportunities and potential for job within
the country and abroad (Puri, 2012). Commercialization of
agriculture and allied activities pave way for agribusiness experts
to acquire better jobs in industrial sector. Food business,
agribusiness, retail chains, banking, agri insurance, supply chain
management and logistics management are some important
career oriented areas in agribusiness management. A logistics
model can provide cost effective access for rural produce to
urban markets. Moreover public private partnerships will help to
address some of the rural development issues. This further
emphasizes the importance of Agri business, supply chain and
logistics management.
Agribusiness is a field where economics, business, and
agriculture merge, and individuals often study and gain
experience in all three in order to be skilled candidates.
Agribusiness management jobs are available in both the public
and private sectors, such as government agencies and large
corporations. The agribusiness education gives an option of
joining the agricultural corporate sector as one of the good career
alternatives. The corporate sectors involved in production and
distribution of pesticides, fertilizers, seeds, farm equipments are
some of the usual options available (Srivastava, 1989).
Agribusiness students can join in the warehousing, retail, seeds
companies, fertilizers and pesticides companies, banks and
insurance sectors. They also can join as agribusiness experts, as
management professor, as policy maker, agribusiness researcher
and agribusiness consultant in any concerned institutions. They
can also look for a career in agriculture consultancy, agri
banking, hi-tech farming and agriculture engineering sectors
(Sunitha, 2009). Careers in agribusiness are varied from farming
or ranching to commodity broker, food broker, loan officer,
marketing researcher/specialist, product analyst, purchasing
agent, statistician, and wholesaler. Agribusiness graduates and
managers can find career openings in many areas of
specialization, including positions such as grain traders, sales
representatives in agri input companies, logistics managers,
finance and credit officers, food managers, agribusiness experts
and analyst positions in market development organizations.
There is a continuing strong demand by agribusiness firms,
ranging from large multinational corporations to emerging food
manufacturing firms for better trained employees in both
management and the agriculture field. These firms are looking
for employees who have the skills to make sense of the world
around them, especially in a rapidly changing, global agriculture
industry.
Recently Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh emphasized
on the need for greater attention to local needs by citing an
important modern management principle of think global and act
local. Logistics could play a key role in integrating rural and
urban divide. A best option of employment can be develop
through agripreneurship development. Agribusiness
professionals can change their own farming land in to profitable
venture by applying the managerial skill plus knowledge and
agribusiness managers can perform well in the same due to their
suitable educational background (Puri, 2012). To shape the
Indian agriculture into a commercially viable entity, there is vital
need to inculcate the spirit of entrepreneurship, and then only
agriculture can become a major contributor to the nations gross
production. Agri-business management has wide scope in
developing the trained manpower in different area of operations
viz. management personnel to cater cooperatives and agriculture
industry, policy makers for financial sector, trained teaching staff
to cater academic field, technically sound team to serve research
area in agribusiness sector (Srivastava, 1989).

IV. CONCLUSION
Agribusiness is a growing discipline as well as industry
sector emerging as promising career options for agribusiness
students and has bright scope in both academic and industrial
development. Agribusiness management education is necessary
for developing trained manpower, to create business
opportunities, reduce poverty through employment generation
and industrial growth for the true development of Indian
agriculture. Now days, the public, private and cooperative
organizations are looking for professionally competent and
trained agribusiness managers for maintaining growth of the
organization. The managerial skills of meritorious agricultural
graduates can be developed through agribusiness management
education by academic institutions so that they can prove as
effective agribusiness managers in the national and international
corporate organizations.Thus agribusiness management
professionals have good and ample opportunities of employment
or jobs in private, public and cooperative sector. They have
opportunities in academic field as agribusiness faculty along with
an alternative of entrepreneurship development.

REFERENCES
[1] Bairwa, S. L. and Kushwaha S. (2012) Agro Industry scenario in India In
Edited by Prof. S. P. Singh Agricultural research and Sustainable
development in India, Bharti Publications, New Delhi, 110093, pp 159-
182.
[2] Bairwa, S. L., Kushwaha, S., Meena, L. K., Lakra, K. and Kumar P. (2014)
Agribusiness Potential of North Eastern States: A SWOT Analysis. Edited
by Singh et al., 2014 Agribusiness Potentials in India: experience from hill
states. EBH Publishers (India) Guwahati New Delhi. PP 544 556
[3] Baruah, B. K. (2008) Agribusiness Management, its meaning, nature and
scope, types of management tasks and responsibilities, Department of Agril.
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013.
[4] Davis, J. H. (1957). From Agriculture to Agribusiness. Harvard Business
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[5] Larson R. B. (2013) Addressing the Needs of the Agribusiness Fringe.
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AAEA & CAES Joint Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., August 4-6,
2013.
[6] Pandey, M. and Tewari, D. (2010) The Agribusiness Book: A Marketing
and Value-Chain Perspective, IDBC Publishers, Lucknow
[7] Puri, Vikram (2012) Agribusiness: A Great Career Opportunity for Talented
People, International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, Volume
15 Special Issue A: 27- 30.
[8] Sonka, S. and Hudson, M.A. (1989) Why Agribusiness Anyway?
Agribusiness 5(4): 305-314.
[9] Sunitha (2009) Career Opportunities in Agribusiness Management,
Employment News Today, pp 1- 4.
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ISSN 2250-3153
www.ijsrp.org
[10] Srivastava, U. K. (1989) Agro-processing Industries: Potential, Constraints
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[11] Sonka, Steven T. (1989) Future Priorities in Agribusiness Education: A
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AUTHORS
First Author Shoji Lal Bairwa, Department of Agricultural
Economics, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005,
Email [email protected] , Mobile - +919696173202
Second Author Abhishek Kalia, Department of Agricultural
Economics, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005
Third Author L. K. Meena, Department of Agricultural
Economics, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005
Fourth Author Kerobim Lakra, Department of Agricultural
Economics, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005
Fifth Author Saket Kushwaha, Vice Chancellor, L. N. Mithila
University, Darbhanga (Bihar) 221005, India