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Ahmedabad, Jan. 18 The Indian Institute of Management is introducing a new course for executives on Food Supply Chain Management from February 15 to 21, said Prof G. Raghuram at Amaethon, the Agri-Business Summit of the Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad).

“The key elements that drive the supply chain system are quality, seasonality, packaging of bulky food and reducing losses in the agriculture business. The focus of the course will be to discuss the capitalisation of the supply chain management system so that its benefits can reach the remote and poor people of the country and also discuss how to increase exports,” he said.

The course has been designed for managers from the food supply chain such as farmers, traders, transporters, warehouse providers, agro processors and government functionaries. “We are looking for support from the Government, primarily in terms of participation. Based on the response we get from the managers, we might introduce this as a permanent course in the agri business course at the institute,” said the professor.

Detecting an increasing interest in the industry to upgrade the supply chain systems of the country to bring it at par with the rest of the world, the institute is planning to offer this course once or twice every year. Around 30 to 40 students are expected to attend the course each time, he said. The course is priced at Rs 70,000 for a week but the college will have a differential pricing for the needy if required.

The professor added that India had a lot of unutilised potential in the marine products sector, which could be leveraged to earn valuable export earnings.

“India is a small consumer, but big producer of marine products. Shrimping and aqua culture can be very lucrative as a variety of species are available on the wide coasts of India. Around 90 per cent of the marine products are consumed domestically and less than 10 per cent are exported. There are only 150 trawlers in the whole of the country, while the potential is there for a lot more,” he said.

Around 20 colleges participated in the three-day event, which saw many Government representatives and industry experts throw light on the potentialities of the agri-business sector.

More Stories on : Education | Supply Chain Management | Foods & Food Processing | Gujarat

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