The Agriculture & Food Processing Committee organized a session on ‘Emerging Trends: Agriculture and Food Processing Sector’ on October 14th over Webex. Mr. Manuj Ohri, Partner – Management Consulting, KPMG in India was the expert speaker. Mr. Simon George, Chairman – Agriculture & Food Processing Committee, AMCHAM and President, Cargill India welcomed participants and gave opening remarks. Mr. Ohri, in his presentation, covered the challenges present in the agri sector in pre-COVID times and during the pandemic. Current challenges include logistics, labor and market connectivity. Some of the major trends that were expected to define the sector include government push to double the farmers’ income, use of technology, emergence of new business models and shifting consumer preferences.

The presentation also touched upon the Farm Bills 2020 and how they provide a ‘freedom of choice.’ Mr. Ohri discussed some of the emerging business models that would attract more corporate participation. Five key models would be produce aggregators, fintech, e-commerce, farm productivity and farm to fork. Mr. Simon George, in his concluding remarks, complimented the agri and food processing sector for their resilience and performance during the pandemic. The session was followed by a committee meeting. Members discussed possible themes for the forthcoming year. It was decided to have regular interactions amongst members and some of the suggested themes included – role of technology, farm bills and their impact on corporates, FTAs and how India can become part of the global supply chain.