Year: 2013 | Month: June | volume 58 | Issue 2
Market Driven Agribusiness Education in Agricultural Institutions for Sustainability
Abstract: <div>Under the given circumstances the agribusiness courses offered by agricultural universities/ institutions need a market orientation for sustainability. The institutes should be sensitive to students’ and industry needs by identifying the target agro-industry, trade or services enterprises and co-coordinating</div><div>with them in course structure design. This will also make the courses commercially viable and sustainable. The industry focus can give them an edge in the market if some experimental learning is facilitated by placing them in specific industries in the last semester over and above the usual summer</div><div>training as a part of the course as is done in some leading institutions. The institutes should provide functional area managers to the concerned trade and industrial units who should also be capable to manage independently small business units and entrepreneurial ventures. On-the-job training is very</div><div>helpful for developing such skills to make the students self dependant. Since the PG students in such courses come from B. Sc. (Ag.) stream they are technically conversant with most of the agricultural specialties but lack seriously in managerial orientation and leadership qualities. They are also found to be deficient in communication and soft skills. Added emphasis should be given on these components. They have to be made better managers in addition to being good technocrats. A package with an outsourcing of such modules through collaboration with professional management institutes may do wonders for the conventional institutes. Such leading institutes may also offer teachers’ training for preparing the faculty to take the challenge themselves in future. Quantitative skills development and computer applications capability should be improved for the students as well as the teachers through a customized provision of special modules to overcome the individual weaknesses. It is expected that such a restructuring of the agribusiness courses in the agricultural institutions will upgrade them to meet the market demand in the globalized era and will also lead to modernization of</div><div>the agriculture sector in India.</div>
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