We go out of our way to eat good food. We all have our favourite eateries. Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of the swanky restaurant interiors, even beyond the kitchen? Where do the items you pick up at the nearest supermarket come from?
Karnataka Veterinary Animal and Fisheries University, Bangalore is offering an opportunity to interested students to earn an MBA in a unique course – Food Business.
According to a release from the university, the changing food habits of consumers are driving the food business to great heights. “The development sweeping the globe is shifting focus from Business Process Outsourcing to Food Process Outsourcing. This will give great opportunities for India which boasts of being the largest producer of rice, milk and vegetables and the second largest producer of wheat and pulses. The processed food industry is in the region of $ 90 billion in 2012 and it has been growing at the rate of about 40 per cent. The rise of the FMCG sector in rural areas is expected to grow at the rate of 40 per cent due to factors such as rising rural incomes, healthy agricultural growth, boost in demand, rising consumerism across India, and better penetration of FMCG products in rural markets. This presents a great opportunity for the MBA graduates in Food Business.”
Lalith Achoth, coordinator of the MBA programme in the varsity’s Bangalore campus, elaborated further: “Food is the future. There are lots of courses on agriculture, but not many on food. In this two-year course, students will be taught the basics such as supply chain – for instance how to transport food at the lowest cost, preservation and quality assurance.”
Managerial concepts including finance, organisational behaviour and managerial economy will also be taught in the 60 credits (30 courses), he added. The last three months of the course will be dedicated to project work.
Job prospects
Since the food sector is said to be an undermanaged one, the varsity release said there is ample scope for management graduates and entrepreneurs.
“The first two batches that have passed out have got placements in retail, business analytics, sugar industry, banking and hospitality industries.
The programme is particularly strong in Quantitative Techniques where there are several courses in Statistics and Data Analytics and the students are exposed to statistical software like SAS, SPSS and MS Excel,” the release added.
Eligibility and fees
Students who have completed any four-year degree or have a postgraduate degree or a BBM/BBA are eligible for admission.
The fee for students from agricultural universities is Rs. 2 lakh for the two-year programme, while it is Rs. 4 lakh for the others.
For students of the varsity’s undergraduate Dairy Technology programme, the MBA could almost be treated like a postgraduate degree, officials from the varsity said.
Applications are being accepted for the current year, details of which are available on the university website >www.kvafsu.kar.nic.in .
For more information, one may contact the Coordinator of the MBA programme on 080-23418840 or the Assistant Coordinator on 99008 50036.
