Agri-Business Management (ABM)
School of Environment Resources and Development | Department of Food, Agriculture, and Bioresources
Agriculture plays a vital role in the economic development of a majority of developing countries. Moreover, agriculture is the provider of food and feed to the world. The agro-industries are also contributing to the growing industrialization of developing countries leading to the increasing importance of agri-products. The development of agribusinesses is also influenced by trade policies. Thus, the management of agribusinesses requires a holistic skill set to navigate challenges posed by the inherently unpredictable nature of agricultural products and government policies. Agribusiness management has far-reaching consequences for many sustainable development goals, including but not limited to SDG1 (no poverty), SDG2 (zero hunger), SDG3 (good health and well-being), SDG5 (gender equality), SDG6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG8 (decent work and economic growth), SDG9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure), SDG12 (responsible consumption and production), SDG13 (climate action).Thus, there is a need for sustainable transformation of agro-food enterprises which requires a new breed of agribusiness managers. Hence, the agribusiness management program at AIT caters to the unique needs of agribusiness professionals by equipping them with the knowledge and skills required to excel in globally competitive agro-industries. The agribusiness managers trained at AIT are market-ready to enhance the performance of small, medium, and large-scale enterprises. Agribusiness Management also aims at enhancing entrepreneurship among primary producers of agri-food products, and traders and other market intermediaries in the value chain.FOCUS AREAS
- Agribusiness Development
- Agricultural Sector and Policy Analysis
- Agri-Food Value Chain Management
- Agro-Industrial Systems Development
- Climate Smart Agriculture and Food Security Contributions of Agribusinesses
- Food Safety, Food Waste, and Standardization
- Innovations and Entrepreneurship in Agribusinesses
- Risk Management in Food Marketing Channels
- Sustainable Agro-Food Systems
- Sustainability Assessment of Agro-Industries
PREFERRED BACKGROUND
The applicant should hold a Bachelor’s degree in an appropriate field of study (for Master’s program), and Masters’s with coursework and thesis study (for Ph.D.). Eligible undergraduate degrees include: Agricultural Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Management Sciences, Social Sciences, or other relevant degree programs.
Minimum GPA – 2.75 or equivalent at Bachelors level (for Master program) and 3.5 or equivalent at Masters level (for Ph.D.).
COURSE STRUCTURE
| Course Code | Course | Number of Credits | Description/Course Objective | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ED80.03 | Agribusiness Management: Principles and Practices | 3 | Agriculture has traditionally been viewed as a subsistence activity. This perspective is rapidly changing due to globalization of commercial food markets. Agribusiness management, bearing multi-disciplinary characteristics, covers aspects of policy, finance, technology and entrepreneurship. The course will provide a broad overview of agribusiness management and will introduce various contemporary issues in terms of their influence on agribusiness development. Furthermore, this course aims to equip students with theoretical principles of management, its functions, and its practical applications. | Aug Sem |
| ED80.04 | Safety and Standardization of Food Products | 3 | To provide the students with knowledge on the need for greater quality assurance, standardization and traceability in the food systems. The course emphasizes food quality control as the mechanism for the prevention of food-borne illness and food spoilage at the “farm-to-fork” level. | Aug Sem |
| ED80.05 | Agri-Food Supply Chain Management | 3 | This course provides broad knowledge of various management issues related to food supply chains, including farm level production to post-harvest management. The course discusses functioning of each sector of food supply chains and how these sectors can be coordinated and integrated to ensure availability of safe food. | Jan Sem |
| ED80.07 | Marketing Management and Trade Policies in Agribusiness | 3 | This course provides students with marketing management skills and exposes them to issues of trade policies in agribusiness. It also examines how the issues of trade policies and marketing can be managed effectively. | Aug Sem |
| ED80.08 | Applied Managerial and Agribusiness Economics | 3 | This course provides students with marketing management skills and exposes them to issues of trade policies in agribusiness. It also examines how the issues of trade policies and marketing can be managed effectively. | Aug Sem |
| ED80.09 | Agro-Industrial Development | 3 | The objective of this course is to provide the framework and strategies of establishing and operating enterprises in the agro-industry for development. The interactions among raw material supply, processing, factors affecting site selection and layout for retail, wholesale and processing enterprises will be important aspects of this course. | Jan Sem |
| ED80.10 | Statistical Methods for Research in Agribusiness | 3 | This course provides students with statistical techniques and useful skills for collecting, designing, analyzing and interpretation of data that can be used in the research and decision making process in agribusiness environments. | Jan Sem |
| ED80.11 | Analytical Techniques and Decision Tools for Agribusiness | 3 | Sound understanding and working knowledge of decision making techniques and tools are important in agribusiness management. This course provides understanding to quantitative decision-making methods for effective agribusiness management in resource allocation, scheduling, risk analysis, and forecasting. Emphasis is given to problem identification, model formulation and analysis, and interpretation of results under multiple criteria decision making conditions. | Jan Sem |
| Course code | Course title | Credit | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| ED80.03 | Agribusiness Management: Principles and Practices | 3(45-0) | August |
| ED80.07 | Marketing Management and Trade Policies in Agribusiness | 3(45-0) | August |
| ED80.09 | Agro-Industrial Development | 3(45-0) | January |
| ED80.10 | Statistical Methods for Research in Agribusiness | 3(45-0) | January |
PROGRAM BROCHURE
PROGRAM VIDEO
