Agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture makes up a large portion of the economy in many developing countries and the business of food production is crucial to national development. Strong management along the value chain coupled with improved knowledge of markets and trade has the power to increase productivity and profitability in the agriculture sector. Business Schools can play an important role in fostering entrepreneurship in the agriculture sector while providing a platform for innovation through the identification of potential markets, carrying out feasibility studies, and developing strong business plans.

GBSN has been working in the area of Agribusiness through a number of initiatives. During the 4th annual meeting in June 2009, GBSN facilitated an agribusiness workshop focusing on the role of business schools in the sector. The workshop was supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Based on some background research and the discussions held at the workshop, GBSN completed a report on Agribusiness in Africa. This report looks at some of the current programs in African higher education, highlighting those activities in business schools where applicable, and outlines recommended interventions to improve the current approach in promoting agribusiness. For more information on this report, please contact Nora Brown, COO.

Additionally, GBSN is currently working on the development of two future programs. The first is aimed at the creation of a consortium of African business schools focused on developing and strengthening programs in Agribusiness. Such a consortium would pool resources and share entry risk into the market while creating a new, innovative way of strengthening human capital for the sector. The second is aimed at the development of a new pilot program for agribusiness entrepreneurs and business owners, farmers organizations, NGO leaders in the field, and policymakers.

GBSN Health and Agribusiness Management and Leadership Workshop

Current

In collaboration with Sub-Saharan African business schools, development partners and international experts, GBSN will coordinate a 3-day design workshop that will work towards the development of two new training programs in the field of health management and agribusiness. This workshop will focus on the management issues common to both health and agribusiness and how to effectively leverage the multi-disciplinary, practical approach of business schools to better serve these two sectors. As a result of bringing these actors together, GBSN will facilitate the creation of two new consortia of schools, which will have the collective resources to seek external partners, raise necessary funding, and develop a shared curriculum of international quality to be adapted for each school’s agribusiness and health markets. Once the workshop lays the foundation, the new consortia will develop learning platforms for each sector and subsequently oversee the implementation of the newly developed management programs on an initial pilot basis. During this time the schools will have an opportunity to test the markets and revise the newly established programs accordingly while also extending the programs to include additional local and international partners.

Food for Thought

“Africa is where business is being redefined. What is happening here will actually teach us a fair bit about what the nature of business will be over the next century.”

– Will Mitchell, Professor of International Management and Strategy at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business