Appertaining to the growing importance of diversifying the knowledge sources, a total of 39 students of Anand Agricultural University, Anand, Gujarat, visited the School of Business Studies of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), under the ICAR-NAHEP programme.
Dr Ramandeep Singh, Director-cum-Professor, School of Business Studies, while welcoming the students and faculty, said that entrepreneurship being the buzzword in today’s world, was deemed fit to form the base of this educational tour. Providing insightful details on entrepreneurship in agribusiness, he observed that there existed a thin borderline between self-employment and entrepreneurship, and that the problem of unemployment could only be eradicated if people were encouraged to become entrepreneurs. Knowledge and self-motivation were vital to pursue goals and that students needed to transform themselves into agribusiness leaders in order to transform the lives of other people. Dr Singh also stressed upon the importance of knowing the basics of agribusiness system by heart. Further, he believed that an agripreneur needed to learn the art of managing all the variable factors including inputs, farming, processing, marketing, storage, transportation, and consumers alike, and think of ways to make the system flourish. Elaborating, he introduced the students to on-farm on-road market concept which reduced middlemen exploitation of farmers. He also shared innovative agri-practices and products like tadka, teddy bear pack of honey for kids, honey sachets, nutty gur, and many more. Dr Singh further highlighted the importance of social media and networking for the Agripreneurship to stay connected with like-minded people. He was a firm believer of the fact that there was no shortcut to success and no substitute to hard work.
Dr Shaktiranjan Panigrahy, Assistant Professor and Head, Operations Management, International Agribusiness Management Institute, Anand Agricultural University addressed the students’ queries about entrepreneurship in agri business.
Dr Gagandeep Banga, Professor, SBS, enlightened the students about “Entrepreneurship and qualities of successful entrepreneurs” and made them aware of how entrepreneurship was a mindset in itself. She explained that how innovation was not limited to only products or technology, but was extended to marketing, process, and geographical area as well. She also shared her insights on an integrative model of entrepreneurial inputs and outputs with the students. “A successful entrepreneur needs to be risk taker, perceptive, curious, persistent, hardworking, flexible, independent, imaginative and creative,” she stressed. Later, she proposed a vote of thanks.
Read more: https://www.pau.edu/index.php?_act=manageEvent&DO=viewEventDetail&dataE=datae&intID=8081
