Amaethon focuses on agri-business as a tool for sustainable development

A host of speakers shared their views on the theme and charted out their visions for inclusive growth that can be achieved by leveraging the potential of agri-business. This year’s speakers included V Shanmugam, chief economist of MCX, Sanjeev Asthana, president of Reliance Agribusiness, Devinder Chawla, partner, Ernst & Young.

A common strand that ran through was that despite tremendous growth in the services sector, 65 per cent of the country’s workforce still derive their livelihood out of agriculture — a sector that has been in distress for the past few years. The growth in agri-business is declining not because the investments are going down, but because new talent is not getting infused in the sector. The speakers brought forth new ideas in terms of helping farmers by utilising the potential of microfinance, information technology, new business models and infrastructure.

Over 2,500 students participated from more than 80 B-schools and agricultural universities across India. The Amaethon also had a variety of games focussed on agri-business that tested the management acumen of students. The home team won the business quiz that was conducted by famous quiz master Avinash Mudaliar. IIFT, Delhi, was second in the quiz competition. Online events like Strategia, a game on corporate strategy, and Comm-Trade, a game on commodity trading, collectively saw participation from 350 teams across India.