Supply Chain Management in Agribusiness
Agribusiness sector in Monetization of produce
Agribusiness sector in Monetization of produce is much in demand. Agribusiness sector offers immense opportunities for addressing the government’s targets of doubling the Farmers income by the year 2022. An effective supply chain management is the key for agribusiness sector in monetization of the produce. The key issues in supply chain management hence need to be addressed properly.
Cost effective supply chain
Cost effective supply chain has a pivotal role to play in Agribusiness sector .The cost effective supply chain should be channelized in such a way that the farmers /producers get a good share in the profit and the consumer get the proper satisfaction to the money spent.
In a Cost effective supply chain, there should be no biasness in profit sharing among st the other market players that handles the farmers produce and make available to consumers.
Availability and affordability
Availability and affordability are two aspects of an effective supply chain management in Agribusiness sector . If the produce is available and the consumers can afford it then the supply chain will have a regular cycle to generate better value .In horticulture sector, especially in fruits there is much gap in availability and affordability.
As per statistics, India is 2nd only to china in fruit and vegetable production. The statistics of availability is promising one but the affordability statistics especially of fruits is not as promising as it should be.
The availability can be transformed in to affordability if some cost effective supply chains are developed. Grading is one such aspect. A supply chain based on different grades can be channelized. This will help the consumer to locate the markets as per his affordability
Logistics and storage facilities
Logistics and storage facilities are key to supply chain management in Agribusiness sector. The entire supply chain will collapse in absence of a sound Logistics and storage facilities.
The post harvest losses due to inadequate Logistics and storage facilities will cause deficit of produce in market. This makes the produce costly in the market and adds unwanted pressure on the consumer pocket. The Logistics and storage facilities decides the quantity of produce to be marketed, time by which the produce should reach to consumer end and the location where the produce is supposed to reach for marketing .
An improvement in supply chain management in Agribusiness sector has to be maintain at all stages in supply chain . This can be channelized through adoption of upcoming modern global practices in handling, storage, packing and logistics.
