BM303 Contemporary Issues in Agribusiness Production and Management Case Study 2 Sample

BM303 Contemporary Issues in Agribusiness Production and Management Case Study

Assignment Brief

Case study analysis:

As part of this assessment, students will be required to analyze a case study and submit a report, which must include: Key factors involved in the sustainable management of Agribusiness. Current sustainable management practices employed to achieve objectives in an agribusiness industry of your choice.

Word limit: 1500 words

The total word limit for the analysis of the case study is around 1500 words excluding the table of content, the bibliography and annexures. Maximum variation of 10 % is allowed.

Font should be Times New Roman, size 12 and space 1.5.

Some examples that can be used as an example for are as follows:

1. Lessons From the Aftermaths of Green Revolution on Food System and Health by Daisy A. John and Giridhara R. Babu retrieved from (2021) https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.644559/full

2. Reducing India’s agricultural carbon footprint with the least costs by Neha Jain on 21 February 2019 retrieved from https://india.mongabay.com/2019/02/reducing-indias-agricultural-carbon- footprint-with-the-least-costs/

The students are also requested to look for other case studies on the similar patterns for analysis.

Solution

1. Introduction

The 'agribusiness' concept has gained increased prominence regarding sustainable management, given that serious environmental challenges have turned into the contemporary global trend. Agriculture forms the basis for food security for a population and its billions; buttresses economic livelihood. However, more often than not, classic agricultural operations are crucial standards in depressing environments, irreversibly defining deforestations, water scarcity, or greenhouse gas emissions. It has also caused the need for an urgency for adoption of sustainable practices that can be assured agribusinesses remain viable and sufficiently minimize the environmental footprint, hence sustainable management. Sustainable management entails a broad category of strategies applied in improving resource efficiency, ameliorating the impact on the environment, and therefore leading up to social responsibility in the attainment of the global sustainability goals.
The underlying focus of the report is based on the critical evaluation of crucial determinants involved in the management of agribusiness in a sustainable manner and the existing sustainable practices currently being referred to by the agribusiness industry. This will primarily focus upon the study "Reducing India's Agricultural Carbon Footprint" by Neha Jain explaining the detailed strategies and practices of the Indian agriculture sector that are being utilized in order to reduce the carbon emissions associated with the sector.

2. Key Factors in Sustainable Agribusiness Management

• Resource Efficiency

The proper use of water, energy, and raw materials to achieve high output while reducing wastage is the hallmark of any sustainable agribusiness management. Water happens to be among the common limiting factors of agriculture, making efficient irrigation systems pivotal. Techniques such as drip irrigation and rainwater harvesting reduce water use without affecting crop yields. In this context, precision agriculture provides an application of technology in the monitoring and management of field variability. It aids a farmer in applying better levels of water, fertilizers, and pesticides (AL-Falahi et al., 2023). This reduces resource consumption and environmental impacts amazingly.

• Environmental Impact

Sustainability of an agribusiness is mostly associated with the capacity to reduce the ecological footprint. Agriculture happens to be among the basic industries contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and loss of biodiversity; therefore, this impact must be minimized. According to the mini case study shared, "Reducing India's Agricultural Carbon Footprint," this can be done by incorporating or introducing renewable sources of energy like solar and wind in farming operations to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Organic farming methods exclude synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, which are important to biodiversity and limitation of pollution. Effective waste management through composting and recycling farm waste lessens the environmental burden resulting from these activities. All these strategies put together facilitate a more sustainable, environment-friendly agribusiness model for MBA assignment expert

• Social Responsibility

Sustainable agribusiness practices should also make a contribution to social well-being. Some of these factors include the assurance of fairness in labor practices, raising of livelihoods of farmers and agricultural workers, and engaging communities. In the case study, social factors such as those outlined above are incorporated into sustainable management strategies through projects supporting smallholder farmers and those aimed at gender mainstreaming. Elaborating fair labor practices embedded within the system, safeties in wages, and working environments are all critical for social sustainability (Patange et al., 2024). Furthermore, such a process creates trust-based relationships with the community and guarantees that the agricultural practices are in tune with the people's social and cultural values.

3. Current Sustainable Management Practices in Indian Agriculture

• Overview of Indian Agriculture

Indian agriculture forms an important sector within the country, as it offers a mainstay to almost half of its population and contributes substantially towards the nation's GDP. Crops and farming practices vary from region to region in this country, with subsistence farming at one end and commercial production at the other extreme. There are, however, some sustainability-related problems that could possibly associate with Indian agriculture due to its dependence on chemical inputs, shortage of water, deterioration of soil, and the impact of climatic change. Whereas the Green Revolution in the 1960s and 1970s did manage to effect an increase in food outputs, it was associated with some very bad repercussions: progressive depletion of soil nutrients, lowering—even exhaustion of groundwater, and rising carbon emission (Jain 2019). The present-day pressure thus falls on sustainable agriculture as an imperative for food security, natural resource conservation, and arresting environment degradations in India.

Case Study: Reducing India’s Agricultural Carbon Footprint

• Background

The case study by Neha Jain, "Reducing India's Agricultural Carbon Footprint," addresses the main critical issue of high carbon emissions in Indian agriculture. Agriculture in India contributes a huge amount of GHG, accounting for more than a quarter of the nation's overall emissions (Jain 2019). This is mostly attributed to enormous uses of synthetic fertilizers, methane emission from rice paddies, and crop residues that are burned at the end of the season. These practices are, however, not only enhancing global warming but also degrading the local environment and the health of the soil. Much emphasis in the case study is hence put on the immediate requirement for sustainable solutions that can reduce the carbon footprint of agriculture and yet be productive, pro-poor, and supportive of farmers' livelihoods.

• Key Strategies and Practices

The key strategies identified by the case study to mitigate the carbon footprint of Indian agriculture are majorly adopting CA through reducing or avoiding soil disturbance, keeping the soil continuously covered with crop residues or cover crops, and crop rotation, which improves carbon sequestration in the soil and reduces the use of chemical fertilizers. Another key strategy is agroforestry: the integration of trees into agricultural landscapes. Trees provide shade, improving biodiversity and facilitating the absorption of carbon dioxide, hence contributing to a decrease in net emissions. It has also put accent on the use of bio-fertilizers, which get derived from natural sources such as compost and manure. Biofertilizers enrich soil with primary nutrients without those environmental impacts that have been accruing from the use of synthetic fertilizers (Elemike et al., 2019).

• Technological Innovations

Technology much contributes to enhancing the sustainability of Indian agriculture. Precision farming is enabled through technologies like drones and satellite images; it basically gives any farmer great accuracy in the application of such inputs as water, fertilizer, and pesticides. Soil health monitoring technologies give real-time data regarding soil conditions and help farmers make informed decisions about crop management and nutrient application (Batisha, 2024). Another developing sector in farms is the integration of renewable energy sources, such as solar panels and wind turbines.

• Policy and Institutional Support

Government policies and institutional support are really very instrumental in promoting practices of sustainable agriculture in India. In the light of this, the government of India has initiated quite a number of sustainability-enhancing initiatives. For example, there are several incentives it provides in organic farming, which leads to lower financial burdens that farmers have to incur while trying to shift towards sustainable practices. Another important tool is carbon credit schemes providing monetary incentives through the reduction of GHG emissions (Barbato & Strong, 2023). Subsequently, farmers' training programs by the government agencies themselves and NGOs are an important way of disseminating knowledge concerning sustainable practices and novel technologies. Trainings increase farmers' capacity with regard to adopting and practically applying effectively the measures of sustainability, which ensures result-oriented agricultural production.
4. Analysis and Discussion

• Comparison with Global Practices

The case example of India on sustainable agriculture practices is similar to those of other places, particularly in Europe and the US. One such example comes from conservation agriculture, obviously practiced in these two parts of the world: reduced or zero soil tillage, crop rotation, and retention of soil cover. Already successful cases in the implementation of precision agriculture technologies and integration of renewable energy into farming are European countries and the United State (Steponaviclene et al., 2023). While Europe and the US have often benefited from higher levels of mechanization, coupled with better access to technology in general, India's approach needs an attunement that is more geared toward smallholder farms, focusing instead on low-cost and locally suitable solutions like bio-fertilizers or agroforestry. This comparison brings into focus how global best practices will need context-specific adaption to meet the factually unique challenges of Indian agriculture.

• Effectiveness and Challenges

Among the bright prospects for sustainable practices discussed in the case study are the applications of conservation agriculture, agroforestry, and bio-fertilizers with a view to reducing carbon emissions and increasing soil health. Their effectiveness in India is usually constrained by problems with scalability and cost, and more importantly, the low rate of adoption among farmers. Most of India's agricultural workforce are smallholder farmers, who do not have the financial capacity or access to technology meeting this idea (Milovanovic & Smutka, 2019). The wide coverage is also a challenge due to the resistance to change vested in traditional farming practices coupled with the lack of awareness in accruable benefits among most farming communities from sustainable agriculture. The up-front cost of sustainable practices, mainly in the short term, could be off-putting to many farmers (Jain 2019).

• Improvement Opportunities

There is plenty of scope to enhance the effectiveness of these sustainable practices in order to help Indian agriculture overcome the challenges it currently faces. First, farmers should be made aware of their maximum level of education and the benefits generated from these sustainable practices in the long term. This may be organized through targeted training programs, farmer field schools, and extension services.

5. Conclusion

The need for sustainable agribusiness management has indeed been done through this report, making its remarks point-blank, with examples of good practice in conservation agriculture, agroforestry, and bio-fertilizers. Indeed, also against these very notable successes, it has major challenges in the way of scalability, cost, and majorly that of farmer adoption. In this light, therefore, some core recommendations in terms of enhancement to sustainability would be support to investment in sustainable technologies, the development of PPPs, and the promotion of sustainable farming underpinned by incentives and education. In the forthcoming years, sustainable agribusiness in India could be one of the major drivers toward global goals of sustainable development, with the promise of delivering upbeat food and social welfare, ensuring environmental well-being for its future generations.

References

AL-Falahi, A. H., Barry, S., Gebrechorkos, S. H., Spank, U., & Bernhofer, C. (2023). Potential of Traditional Adaptation Measures in Mitigating the Impact of Climate Change. Sustainability, 15(21), 15442–15442. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115442

Barbato, C. T., & Strong, A. L. (2023). Farmer perspectives on carbon markets incentivizing agricultural soil carbon sequestration. Npj Climate Action, 2(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-023-00055-4

Batisha, A. (2024). Multi-disciplinary strategy to optimize irrigation efficiency in irrigated agriculture. Scientific Reports, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-61372-0

Elemike, E. E., Uzoh, I. M., Onwudiwe, D. C., & Babalola, O. O. (2019). The Role of Nanotechnology in the Fortification of Plant Nutrients and Improvement of Crop Production. Applied Sciences, 9(3), 499. https://doi.org/10.3390/app9030499

Jain, N. (2019, February 21). Reducing India’s agricultural carbon footprint with the least costs. Mongabay-India. https://india.mongabay.com/2019/02/reducing-indias-agricultural-carbon-footprint-with-the-least-costs/

Milovanovic, V., & Smutka, L. (2019). Populating Aging in Rural India: Implication for Agriculture and Smallholder Farmers. Journal of Population Ageing, 13(3), 305–323. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12062-019-09246-6

Patange, O., Purohit, P., Avashia, V., Klimont, Z., & Garg, A. (2024). Mitigation of non-CO2 greenhouse gases from Indian agriculture sector. Environmental Research Letters, 19(7). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad4e4e

Steponaviclene, V., Rudinskiene, A., Ziuraitis, G., & Boguzas, V. (2023). The Impact of Tillage and Crop Residue Incorporation Systems on Agrophysical Soil Properties. Plants, 12(19), 3386–3386. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12193386