Re-imagine Agribusiness, Rediscover India was the message that commenced the second edition of Sankalp, IIM Lucknow’s Annual Agribusiness Conclave organised by Interest Group in Food and Agribusiness of IIM Lucknow. The conclave is a forum for an interactive series of presentations and discussions by top executives, faculty and researchers on pressing issues and nurture path breaking ideas on the field.
With area under cultivation being increased by 9.1%, stagnating urban demand and good monsoons indicating a rise in rural India income, it’s the time when major FMCG and telecom companies are gearing up their rural marketing strategies through innovation in product, processes and promotion.
The major attraction of the event was the panel discussion on the theme “Product development and innovations in the field of Agribusiness”. Panelists for the discussion were Mr. Shashank Kumar, an entrepreneur who is the co-founder of FnF( Farm and Farmers) as well as the Director of Green Agrevolution Pvt. Ltd and Mr. Sunil Rana, Regional Manager of United Phosphorus Ltd.
A brain-storming discussion on the topic with an enthusiastic participation of students thereby followed which helped the students to gain valuable insights about the need and importance of Innovation in Agri-business. Mr. Shashank Kumar very well pointed out that the major challenge faced in the sector is not the aggressive competition but the lack of competition and experienced players in the field due to which existing practices and processes are un-structured and inefficient. Mr. Sunil emphasised on the increasing role of technology and the need to adopt advanced methodologies in agricultural practices in order to raise the level of product quality and yield.
There is thus a need to explore the potential of this sector, innovate, implement new ideas and establish reliable and time-tested techniques and processes
Few other events like C Trader, Valoracian and Lakshya (case study competitions) were organized during the day. The crowd turned up in huge number and in great fervour to participate in diverse activities. The conclave gave an opportunity to budding managers to connect with top executives and be inspired to think differently to handle the challenges and get a holistic view of the agribusiness industry.