An IIM Lucknow Initiative

Agribusiness Management

Agribusiness management is the application of business skills from areas such as marketing, finance,
economics and management to the agricultural industry. The core concepts of the management remain the
same, but the perspective is from the Food and agricultural point of view.

Agriculture as a sector provides a wide variety of challenges. The dependence on land, fertility, climate,
lack of agricultural infrastructure, access to capital are but just a few challenges that this industry faces
during the production stage. Post production most of the challenges are due to the perishability of the
products. The low shelf life of agricultural products coupled with specific conditions required to store and
transport goods pose unique challenges and can be a supply chain nightmare.

Hence a food company needs to manage and control the process right from the procurement of the raw
materials to the delivery of finished goods to the end user. Thus as an Agribusiness professional you would
be required to have strong domain knowledge and also be well versed with management principles so as
to effectively manage the agribusiness value chain.

FAQs:

1. How does Agribusiness curriculum differ from PGP Course?

There is one Extra course focusing on ABM in each term of the first year. The rest of the subjects
are the same for the first year. During the second year the electives for both are different.

2. Which companies can ABM students apply to?

IIM-L does not have an independent placement process for PGP and PGP-ABM. The eligibility
for the application to any company depends on the Company’s eligibility criteria. ABM students
can hence apply to almost all the companies not just those specific to Agribusiness sector.

3. How to prepare for the ABM interview?

Apart from the technical knowledge regarding the graduation stream, a basic knowledge of
agriculture sector is desired. It would benefit you to be abreast with the current news and trends in
Agriculture sector in India and rest of the world. The contribution of agriculture to the Indian
economy. You may need to justify your interest in the Agriculture sector

4. I’m from a non-Agriculture background. Should I pursue ABM?

Yes, definitely if you have a genuine interest in the Agribusiness Sector. Each field can contribute
to the Agribusiness sector be it Mech., IT, Electrical or any other. There are many contributions
that each field can make to the Agribusiness Sector. There are students in the current batch as well
as the previous batches who did not have a background in Agriculture.

Contacts: Debarati +91-9903672162 | Dhruv +91-8286000850 | Harsh +91-7666029337 | Manoj +91-9664980665 | Mradul (ABM)
+91-9599213421 | Nidhi +91-9980076383 | Radhika +91-9624000788 | Remant (PGPSM) +91-7838705488 | Sai Kamalesh +91-
8125864832 | Vivek +91-9029576558 | Email: [email protected]

Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, Prabandh Nagar, Off Sitapur Road, Lucknow – 226013 (UP), India
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Informative Questions regarding what is ABM:-

1. What is Agri-business management? What is its scope?

Agribusiness Management is not just about agriculture. It’s a management course where one learns
how to manage a firm, which is related to agriculture/livestock/ food processing and other similar
domain. It does not require too much technical knowledge, moreover, there is a foundation course
in agriculture to familiarize you with the basic concepts. So even, if one does not have an
agriculture background but is interested in being associated with agri- based industry, this course
would provide the requisite learning. Secondly, if you are not interested in agri-domain then you
may still have an opportunity to get placed in a different sector as we have common placements
for both ABM and PGP students. But, this is not a standard norm, thus, this criteria of common
placements of PGP and ABM batch may change in future.

2. Does ABM include various perspectives from marketing, finance, operations etc.?
ABM has scope in all sectors including marketing, finance, etc. related to agri-domain. In other
words, you will get immense opportunities in the fields of pharmacy, fertilizers & other agri-based
products or services which would be comparable to those offered in marketing, finance, etc.

3. Should I try for ABM even though I don’t have Agriculture background? / Can you tell the
profile/background of current ABM batch?
Most of the students in the current ABM batch are engineers. But they have diverse work
experience. Some are from consulting field, others from IT industry, Auto Industry and many
students are from the biotech domain. Also there are a healthy number of freshers in the batch.

4. Is there an edge for ABM students anywhere over PGPM students?

There may be some agri-based companies that allow only ABM students to sit for the process.
These companies offer very good profiles.

5. What is the level of involvement of ABM students in the committees? Do ABM students have
equal chance of getting into committees as compared to PGPM students or they have an edge
in the selection process?
The committee selection process offers equal chances to both PGPM and ABM students. For
Academic Interest Groups, relaxation is given to ABM students based on the academic criteria..
So it depends entirely on your capability that whether you can make it into the committees or not.
And there is even a committee, IGFAB (Interest Group in Food and Agribusiness), which
especially deals with the events related to agri-business.

6. Is there any special committee for ABM students?

Yes, there is a committee called IGFAB (Interest Group in Food and Agribusiness), which is
involved in conducting events related to ABM. IGFAB is the face of IIM Lucknow in the domains

Contacts: Debarati +91-9903672162 | Dhruv +91-8286000850 | Harsh +91-7666029337 | Manoj +91-9664980665 | Mradul (ABM)
+91-9599213421 | Nidhi +91-9980076383 | Radhika +91-9624000788 | Remant (PGPSM) +91-7838705488 | Sai Kamalesh +91-
8125864832 | Vivek +91-9029576558 | Email: [email protected]

Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, Prabandh Nagar, Off Sitapur Road, Lucknow – 226013 (UP), India
Follow us on: Facebook (/TeamIgnicion) | PaGaLGuY (@ignicion)
 An IIM Lucknow Initiative
of agri-business, environment and rural management. It is the committee that handles all the
agribusiness activities and events in IIML throughout the year.

The committee also initiated an agribusiness conclave ‘SANKALP’, which included various case
study events related to finance, marketing, strategy, etc. These events are done in association with
prestigious corporate organizations such as Tata Rallis and Microsave. This provides members the
unique opportunity to interact with large organizations’ CEO, VP, Presidents, COO and other C-
level employees. Apart from this, other events conducted by IGFAB keep on taking place all
throughout the year. IGFAB, under the umbrella of IIM Lucknow, acts to disseminate awareness
about agri-business, to carve paths for conserving the environment and to diffuse subtle prosperity
in rural India.

Placement Related Questions:-

1. Would I get a job in an Agri-based industry only?

It is not necessary. A lot of other companies have allowed the ABM students to sit for their
process. So there are plenty of opportunities to get into different firms. But, this is not a standard
norm, thus, this criteria of common placements of PGPM and ABM batch may change in future.
In other words, there may be a possibility that ABM students have separate placement process.

2. How were the summer placements of ABM students this year?

The summer placements of ABM students were really good this year with students getting
placed in consulting firms like Accenture. Apart from consulting, ABM students this year have
also obtained general management roles, operation roles, marketing roles in firms like Amazon,
Flipkart, HUL, Star, etc.

3. Is there a possibility for ABM students having a separate placement in future?

There has been no such official news regarding separate placements. But an ABM student
should be ready for any such news in the future. There might be a possibility of separate
placements.

4. Does getting into committees help an ABM student to get placed in a Non-Agri-based
company?
It is not necessary that getting into a committee will ensure your selection in non-agri based
company. It would just help you to better your profile. Ultimately your selection rests upon your
interview and the company’s requirements or expectations.

Contacts: Debarati +91-9903672162 | Dhruv +91-8286000850 | Harsh +91-7666029337 | Manoj +91-9664980665 | Mradul (ABM)
+91-9599213421 | Nidhi +91-9980076383 | Radhika +91-9624000788 | Remant (PGPSM) +91-7838705488 | Sai Kamalesh +91-
8125864832 | Vivek +91-9029576558 | Email: [email protected]

Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, Prabandh Nagar, Off Sitapur Road, Lucknow – 226013 (UP), India
Follow us on: Facebook (/TeamIgnicion) | PaGaLGuY (@ignicion)
 An IIM Lucknow Initiative
Regarding Preparation:

Do prepare yourself with the following questions:

1. Why do you prefer ABM over your other calls?
2. Do you know why agri-business management got this name or what is the difference between
agriculture and agri-business management?
3. Indian firm in agribusiness- examples; what is agribusiness?
4. Questions about the companies that you have filled in the application form for PGP ABM? Why
would you like to work for these companies?
5. Questions related to agriculture like types of soil, crops etc.
6. What is a crop? Examples of Kharif and Rabi crops.
7. What is the difference between manure and fertilizer?
8. Fertilizer subsidy?
9. What is a fodder crop, examples?
10. GM food and crops? (BT cotton, BT soyabean and BT brinjal in particular)
11. Questions on ICAR, APMC, Commodity trading?
12. What is NCDEX?
13. As a consultant suggest us 5 emerging areas to invest in biotechnology?
14. Agriculture sector problems.
15. What is Urea? Is it organic or inorganic? Describe its structure?
16. How agriculture sector contributes to climate change?
17. India GDP, rural population, Panchayati system etc.
18. M.S. Swaminathan’s Green evolution?
19. Farm Mechanisation? Green House Impact?
20. Nobel Prize in agriculture- Wolf prize.
21. What is horticulture, floriculture, pomoculture, olericulture, monoculture, crop rotation, multiple
cropping, FAO headquarters, crop diversity, contract farming etc.?
22. Green, yellow revolutions, what other revolutions on on similar lines you know- Blue, white etc.?
23. Products of Pepsi, coke, Parle agro, Maricoetc.?
24. Facts about Indian Agri- figures and rank in production of different cereals, fruits, veggies, dairy
etc., land usage, irrigation?
25. Types of Irrigation system? Which Irrigation system is most effective?
26. Right to food bill and Public Distribution System?
Contacts: Debarati +91-9903672162 | Dhruv +91-8286000850 | Harsh +91-7666029337 | Manoj +91-9664980665 | Mradul (ABM)
+91-9599213421 | Nidhi +91-9980076383 | Radhika +91-9624000788 | Remant (PGPSM) +91-7838705488 | Sai Kamalesh +91-
8125864832 | Vivek +91-9029576558 | Email: [email protected]

Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, Prabandh Nagar, Off Sitapur Road, Lucknow – 226013 (UP), India
Follow us on: Facebook (/TeamIgnicion) | PaGaLGuY (@ignicion)
 An IIM Lucknow Initiative
27. High yielding varieties?
28. Organic farming? Contract farming?
29. Major exports and imports in food?
30. Fermentation?
31. What are the chemical fertilizers used commonly? Why?
32. Food standards in India, WTO food/agricultural standards?

Contacts: Debarati +91-9903672162 | Dhruv +91-8286000850 | Harsh +91-7666029337 | Manoj +91-9664980665 | Mradul (ABM)
+91-9599213421 | Nidhi +91-9980076383 | Radhika +91-9624000788 | Remant (PGPSM) +91-7838705488 | Sai Kamalesh +91-
8125864832 | Vivek +91-9029576558 | Email: [email protected]

Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, Prabandh Nagar, Off Sitapur Road, Lucknow – 226013 (UP), India
Follow us on: Facebook (/TeamIgnicion) | PaGaLGuY (@ignicion)