Agribusiness - The Future of MSME Market in Post-Covid Era

In the post-Covid period, agri entrepreneurship appears to have emerged as a sunrise market, with opportunities in agriculture and related industries.

To get through the crisis, the MSME market, which has been severely impacted by the pandemic, is searching for opportunities in the agri-business and agri-industrial sectors. But, according to TP Sethumadhavan, Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry Department, "it needs position precision and market-centered development strategies."

He emphasized the importance of effective market-linkage programs in order to keep farming activities profitable and long-term. Adoption of good farming practices, infrastructure, and micro irrigation techniques are all essential to accomplish this. In an interview he said that educated youth have begun to venture into agribusiness using technology-enabled marketing channels.

Findings from the CII analysis:

According to a CII survey, 30% of agriculture enterprises are profitable, 35% are break-even, and the remaining 35% are losing money, according to Sethumadhavan, who is also a farming expert. Ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook grocery items have a massive market ahead of them.

He proposed fostering creativity, entrepreneurship, and technology in the post-Covid process to increase quality and productivity. Precision farming practices would pave the way for lower production costs and increased efficiency.

He encouraged young people to start agricultural businesses because market demand for organic and natural food is expected to grow in the coming years. More resources would be created if productivity-enhancing programs were combined with sufficient value adding.

Kerala's Possibility:

Kerala offers unprocessed farm goods such as jackfruit, rubber, bananas, tapioca, spices, and so on. Appropriate commodity value addition in line with overseas consumer demand will help to increase returns. Animal protein sources, such as milk, poultry, beef, and meat products, are splendid examples of a possible measure to counter food security and protein malnutrition. However, he noted that policies and programs relating to this sector will be a focus field in the post-Covid period.