STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Nothing is ever done in futility… if you have learnt from the experience.
In addition to this attitude I bring with me an array of skills, experiences and perspectives that will add an edge to the remarkable diversity in your university.
After completing my schooling at the reputed XXX School, I gained entry into XXX University, the number one private institution of higher learning in India. In my undergraduate degree, B Tech in Biotechnology, I was in the top 5 percentile. With this solid educational background, I will strive to contribute to the intellectually invigorating and challenging environment at your university.
I aspire to mould my leadership qualities after gaining in-depth technical knowledge in a more positive manner. I have elaborated in my detailed professional resume my experiences and skills. I expect a fiercely competitive and challenging environment in future and I strongly feel it is imperative to undertake a Masters Program focusing on biotechnology to equip me adequately.
Asia’s meteoric economic growth has concealed the waxing relative and absolute inequalities, resulting in its two faces. A prospering face is competing internationally and benefiting from the forces of globalization, technological change and economies of scale. In contrast, a distressing face is having wide swatches of its population excluded from benefits of prosperity. The gap between rejoice and despair is deep and getting wider, threatening to rupture the social fabric in this region. This situation calls for a radical change in the way businesses, governments and civil societies think and act. Your program has a reputation for an international, diverse, experienced and focused student body that will sharpen and polish my leadership skills and help build a network of alliances to effect such a change.
According to the World Bank, World Development Indicators 2003 report, while the contribution of agriculture to GDP growth in India is 16.05%, the average agriculture growth is merely 3.07%. Nearly 670 million live on less than a dollar a day! Food Security plays an essential role in the developmental process and in realizing the Millennium Developmental Goals ( MDGs) It is crucial for global reduction of hunger, alleviation of poverty, improvement of health and development of economy. It is the most potent indicator of human development. I believe a Maters Degree in Biotechnology in your university is the first step to learn how to profitably leverage a massively synchronized information gathering and usage system to develop a globally successful business model of food security.
I seek to surmount challenges involved in the management of agricultural supply chain, fragmentation, lack of infrastructure, plethora of rules and regulations all of which prove to be too daunting for inventive and resourceful organizations working in this domain. The primary goal of my life is to identify a career to facilitate the linking of farmers to the markets by effective use of Biotechnology, MIS (Management Information Systems) and SCM (Supply Chain Management).
Contemporary challenges include changing production methods; low world process and more open markets to international competition; changes in R&D systems; environmental degradation and climate change; and changes in the policy environment. The experience I gained in your university will enable me to apply these principles to ensure effective market access to farmers by creating a dynamic information system and supply chain and to guarantee right availability of adequate food to all people by the effective use of biotechnology.
Agri-Food systems are undergoing rapid transformation as increasing concentration in processing, trading, marketing and retailing is being observed in all segments of production-distribution chains in all regions of the world. Food consumption is changing. Demand for fruits and vegetables, animal products and oil crops are forcing farmers to diversify production as a response. Frozen, pre-cut, pre-cooked and ready-to-eat items and similar convenience foods are in great demand. Production, Processing and Distribution are adapting to reflect these changes. Your curriculum with a potent mix of practical business theory designed to manage professional teams successfully in today’s evolving business world is a perfect fit for me.
India’s largest corporate farming initiative, the Tata group’s Amalgamated Plantations is looking at an organized corporate farming proposal that will leverage the country’s burgeoning organized retail grocery business. It plans to go beyond plantation management to enhance productivity and add value to feed the demand from the new grocery retail chains. It is the country’s largest corporate owner of agricultural land with 24,000 hectares under its fold. The proximity of your faculty members to key business centers will offer me golden opportunity to interact with experienced businessmen who have already traversed similar paths.
The business model, it is said, would extend to landowners around its plantations, as well as other parts of the country, to leverage the benefits of scale. The objective will be to improve productivity and add value to the produce, given that India’s per-hectare productivity of 55 tonne is significantly behind the US and the Netherlands, where it is 500-600 tonne. Improving productivity on the supply side, rather than arbitrage from the market will be the key focus. While the farmers are unable to get fair price for their produce, the consumers bear the brunt of increasing price of essential commodities. There is a serious lack of application of Biotechnology, MIS and SCM principles to combat this anomaly. It is possible to ensure fair price for the farmers while save the end users from erratic price fluctuations. Your program will surely equip me with the right inputs to find tangible solutions.
It is also in sync with a growing trend of involvement in agriculture by conglomerates like tobacco-to-hotel major ITC, PepsiCo, Bharti and Reliance. The last two have started farming initiatives to tie up supplies for their respective retail chains. The international validity of your program will enhance my post-MS job search.
The e-Choupal model is specifically designed for the farmers benefit and is construed to overcome the challenges owing to the unique character of Indian agriculture. It aims at providing quality and real-time market and pricing related information, weather data and other related information. It permits farmers to increase their realizations on crop sales from 10 percent to 15 percent. Further, ITC saves procurement costs by 4 percent allowing it to incrementally improve its competitive position in national and international commodity trade. This is an excellent model of information technology working towards the benefits of both farmers and marketers. I want to initiate several such models from the rich knowledge I will gain from your study program.
Pepsi has used the expertise of its partners such as Punjab Agricultural University and Ludhiana and Punjab Agro Industries Corporation to the benefit of farming community in Punjab. This successful backward linkage of agriculture and horticulture has been in operation for over ten years. Pepsi pioneered the concept of contract farming for the completive bulk procurement of crops like potato, tomato, chili, groundnut and paddy. This model essentially is based on MIS and location specific Biotechnology R&D. Your distinguished faculty will mould the strategist in me and give fillip to spearhead numerous initiatives keeping with the best environmental and social practices of the day.
