IIMA's Amaethon 2014 is off to a flying start[/b][/b][/b]
Amaethon 2014, the agribusiness, rural development and food summit organized by students of IIM Ahmedabad, began today with an aim to explore the dynamics of the sector in a changing economic scenario. The two day event was inaugurated by Shri. Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, Hon’ble Cabinet Minister, Govt. of Gujarat. Mr. Chudasama stressed on encouraging organic farming, a means to make agriculture more profitable. Increasing health and quality consciousness among consumers indicates a potential demand for organic produce. He also highlighted that improved systems like drip irrigation result in higher yields using lesser water. The minister released the food, agribusiness and rural magazine, " The Hyphen" , on the occasion.[/b][/b][/b]
The first workshop of the day was an engrossing session on Rural Marketing, under the theme " Opportunities Beyond Imagination" . The workshop was conducted by Mr. Pradeep Kashyap, CEO, MART. Mr. Kashyap, who has worked in the rural marketing sector, highlighted the " dramatic transformation of the rural sector in the last decade." Giving various interesting examples and anecdotes, Mr. Kashyap emphasised that rural economy is growing faster than the urban economy and is highly heterogeneous, which is a challenge for marketers. Commenting on the seemingly bleak global economy, Mr. Kashyap said that India can bank on its backup markets - the small town and rural markets - to drive demand. The main challenges in tapping the rural markets were reach, distribution channels and innovation. Co-creation and use of social infrastructure will go a long way in meeting the needs of the rural consumer, he observed. Mr. Pankaj Mishra, Partner – Agribusiness, MART explained the innovative marketing approaches that MART had provided to its clients in rural consumer durables, FMCG and pharmaceuticals.[/b][/b][/b]
The panel discussion on agribusiness - " Reinventing Agribusiness – Building Competencies and Delivering Growth" was moderated by Prof. Ravindra Dholakia, Economics area, IIMA. The panellists included Mr. V.R. Kaundinya, MD, Advanta Ltd., Mr. Manoj Rawat, Sr. VP & Head, Agribusiness, Ratnakar Bank, and Mr. M.K. Mudgal, Chief General Manager, NABARD, Gujarat. Mr. Kaundinya spoke about the trends in the agronomic aspects of agriculture, highlighting the collateral damage that has happened due to overuse of agricultural inputs and the need for orientation towards sustainable agriculture. He said that there was lot of research on value being transferred into the seed, as in crop protection, water use and nutrition. Mr. Rawat stated that credit was a very important component in agricultural as it was the capital required to meet all agricultural input needs. Mr. Mudgal underlined the current warehouse requirements and challenges, remarking that the existing storage capacity for agricultural produce is only 100.52 MMT, when the requirement is actually 223.65 MMT. [/b][/b][/b]
The two-day event is witnessing the participation of over 250 students from various agriculture and agribusiness institutes across the country.[/b][/b][/b]
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