Managing Contract Farming

Start Date: Dec 17, 2024 End Date: Dec 21, 2024
Last Date for Application: December 3, 2024 Last Date for Early Bird: November 26, 2024
Programme Fee: 200000 INR

Plus, GST

Early Bird Fee: 186000 INR

Plus, GST

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Contract farming has been receiving increasing attention from agribusiness firms as well as the government for more than a decade now. While agribusiness firms view it as a tool for managing raw materials, the government considers it as an avenue to develop markets, transfer technology, provide inputs including credit, etc. to small farmers. The now repealed farm Laws of 2020 further led to enhanced policy, practice and public interest in this mechanism of co-ordination of farm production and its disposal. A large number of agribusiness firms have undertaken contract farming for a number of agricultural and horticultural crops/produce over the last two decades though seed contract farming has been in existence for more than 50 years. While some of the contract farming schemes and projects are working smoothly, others have experienced certain problems because of improper design or ineffective implementation. In some cases, the participating farmers are not happy and in some other cases, firms have had bad experience. With the multi-brand retail trade being opened to 51% FDI in late 2012 by the Government of India and the presence of wholesale ‘cash and carry’ players including those with 100% FDI since the late 1990s, and the separate Model agricultural produce and livestock contract farming and services (promotion and facilitation) Act of 2018, which has been adopted by many states, contract farming has become an even more relevant mechanism as large global supermarkets and exporters and processors may like to source quality farm produce directly from farmers under contracts to achieve quality and cost advantages in the absence of corporate farming option and poorly performing open markets for such produce in India. Already, some domestic supermarkets have been using some variants of contract farming, besides direct purchase, in procuring fruits and vegetables from farmers for almost a decade now.

The Centre for Management in Agriculture (CMA) and the Program Chair at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad has been conducting studies on contract farming and fresh food supermarkets to document the experiences of firms and farmers for two decades now and has offered this program multiple times over the last 15 years. The program has evolved over the years and has been attended by executives, including from abroad, from across agricultural and allied sectors. This programme is based on those experiences with the executives associated with contract farming and procurement activity. The objective is to develop a broader understanding of the concept and develop skills in designing and implementing contract farming programmes on a sustainable basis.
 

For more information or any questions, contact Rahul Gupta: rahul-exed@iima.ac.in | +91 87588 00397

  • To develop understanding of contract farming, its rationale, and management issues
  • To develop skills in designing contracts and implementation strategies
  • To develop skills in operational management of contract farming programmes and parties
  • To expose participants to the policy environment concerned with procurement of agricultural commodities and regulation of contract farming since 2003
  • Concept and rationale of contract farming     
  • Contract farming models (organisation)        
  • Strategy and implementation issues   
  • Quality monitoring and delivery
  • Quantity and pricing issues
  • Designing contracts and policy experiments
  • Global experience of contract farming
  • Innovations in contract coordination

The programme will discuss these aspects in the context of various farm products including fresh fruits and vegetables, seeds, and organic products.

  • Procurement managers of food and agro-processing companies/ agencies in public and private sectors including food supermarkets and farmer producer organisations
  • Professionals in charge of contract farming activities in business organisations
  • Officials from the departments of agriculture/agricultural marketing of the Union and the state governments
  • Personnel from export houses, banks, NGOs, and other agencies dealing with agricultural commodities, processed products, and agricultural inputs
  • Agricultural start ups interested in sourcing farm and allied produce

The pedagogy will include lectures, cases, case studies, group discussion, role plays, exercises, and also possibly a short field exposure.

Faculty Chair

Sukhpal Singh

Programme Faculty



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