Monday, January 25, 2010

One major flaw in the growth of agriculture is lack of marketing

While many private companies are present in the food processing business, more often than not the companies find it better to be a part of a bigger brand rather than making their own mark. While this helps a few, mostly the MNCs, for the Indian companies the business opportunities are killed and in turn farmers feel the heat. This not only applies to the producers, but also to the people involved with the associate industries like the seed industry. L K Pandey, National sales head, SUNGRO SEEDS avers, “It is very important to have a USP. For example- some of our seeds mature one week earlier than other rival seed company products. This gives us strong competitive edge.”

And competitive edge is precisely what is lacking in agriculture marketing in India. From the starting of the process till the end there are loopholes. It is an opportunity for a few, but for the majority of those related to agriculture it is turning out to be Achilles’ heel. While it is all the game of infrastructure on one hand it is about removing corruption within the system on the other. There is a lot of scope for private parties, but the markets as such are not developed thus hampering their entry. And since the segment is capital intensive, it is also making exit a trouble for those who want to. As such the kind of government investment is less compared to what the sector needs. In such a case the only answer is to tighten all the screws and nuts and go for what is called ‘business process re-engineering.’ Agriculture can’t grow unless the input front and the output front work in tandem and this can only happen when the marketing is done in a proper and effective manner. Till the moment the small average farmer has his tractor in the field and his eyes on the market, agriculture will continue to be in the dark.

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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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