INTRODUCTION
India is a global agricultural powerhouse. Agriculture, fishery and forestry are the largest contributors to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in India. This however plays a major role in the Indian economy. It is the largest in the production of wheat, rice and cotton. Multiple factors have influenced the growth of India’s agricultural sector which includes the growth of consumption, household income and expansion in agricultural exports. There has been a rise in private participation in Indian agriculture and the use of information technology in the agricultural industry. However, India suffered its own economic downturn in 2008-09, when production output from the agricultural industry was hampered by unusual rain conditions leading to a drought in 2009-10 (Mintel, 2013). There is also an issue of pricing, storage, and processing which have had an impact in the degree of value creation and this is affecting most farmers especially the poor ones who are dependent on seed sold in the market. James Mortimer Ltd is a merchant company in grains and seeds. It was established in the year 1869; it has a reputation for fairness and integrity. It is a medium sized wholesale farming business with a warehouse, seed plant facility and standalone grain store in the United Kingdom.
FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS
THE MARKET SELECTION
Based on J.K. Johansson (1997), he describes the international market selection process with five steps (Appendix 1):
1. Country identification: this
Modern day farming has transformed from the farming process of last century. Instead of farmers producing for their families, farmers are now similar to input/output managers supplying massive manufacturers that feed the country.
The replacement of the idle fallow with crops constituted the Agricultural Revolution. It was important because the new types of crops made allowed farmers to feed their animals more, which led to a greater amount of meat and improved diets. It had the greatest effect in England and the Low Countries.
What are some factors companies (and your learning team) need to consider before attempting to enter foreign markets? Assuming you were setting up a market program for a product in a foreign country (and you are), what should you take into consideration? Assume you are developing an advertising strategy for the promotion of a new product (and you are). What are some things you should consider?
Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth century, a lack of a consistent and reliable food supply in Britain led to a rise in prices that threatened the lives of many poor British people; the poor could not obtain food regularly due to the rise in food prices and thus, only could survive through charity. On the other hand, the rise in prices put landlords in better financial situations and caused them to make innovations in farming to further increase their agricultural profit; these innovations in farming became known as the Agricultural Revolution. The Agricultural Revolution impacted the society of Great Britain through an increase in food production, a decrease in food prices, and an increase in the amount of enclosures. The Agricultural
In the late 19th century, many factors affected agriculture in the United States as small farms transitioned to large farms. Technology, government policy, and economic conditions greatly influenced the way agriculture functioned in America. Farmers were exposed to advanced agricultural machinery and suffered from poor economic conditions due to a lack of government intervention. As production of crops increased thanks to the advancements in agriculture and processing, the prices of food dropped, leading to the eventual downfall of American farmers. In addition, the government was rooting for the success of the national economy, even if that meant choosing to neglect the struggling farmers and workers that made that success possible.
South Asia is one of the most densely populated regions of the world, where despite a slow growth, agriculture remains the backbone of rural economy as it employs one half to over 90 percent of the labor force. Both extensive and intensive policy measures for agriculture
Robert Paarlberg examines the rapidly growing Western obsession with organic food in his article “Attention Whole Foods Shoppers” published in Foreign Policy magazine in 2010. In his article, Paarlberg addresses the current issues of global hunger and food crisis, particularly in Africa. He argues, contrary to popular belief, that slow, organic, and sustainable agriculture is an ineffective method to correct these issues. Paarlberg instead states that conventional and modern farming techniques, along with industrialized food production, are the solutions to solving this epidemic of hunger. In his article, Paarlberg uses the combination of ethos, and presenting one-sided evidence (i.e. stacking the deck) in an attempt to convince his audience of the ineffectiveness of the slow agricultural movement as a solution to end the world hunger crisis.
The agriculture field is one of the biggest employers, employing over 155 million people in the United States. What do you think about when you hear the word “agriculture?” Many people would say farming, but this is not the most common occupation in this field. Farmers make up a fraction of the agricultural jobs at 900,000, but over 2.1 million people own, rent, and claim farming as a primary source of income. The average farm size has dropped from 460 acres in 1990 to 418 acres in 2007, while the average age of this occupation rose to 57, making this one of the older workforces in the United States.
“Hey mom, what is for supper tonight?” “Oh I don’t know son, what do you feel like eating?” “Well, I think I would really like to eat some steak and mashed potatoes and maybe some green beans; but first off we could start with a nice fresh salad and finish up with a rhubarb pie.”
Welcome to the age of an agricultural revolution as everyday biotechnology continues to bring innovation to human’s most basic needs – food. Food is essential to any living organism, providing energy for our production and nutrients for our protection. Without this fundamental element, life cannot exist. Our lack to produce our own energy, like plants, causes us to become dependent on others for survival. Humans existence is attributed only to the million years of evolution our food source underwent to sustain our survival. Changing the primary nature of our food source, whether it is plant or animal, directs mankind in a dangerous future if our food dependency is permanently hampered. Welcome to the age of an agricultural devolution
In light of this, I would like to explore research frontiers in the area of the challenges of managing food and farm businesses in a global setting of the 21st Century. In our society beleaguered by agricultural problems that ranges from economic to environmental problems such as weather and global warming, issues concerning trade and management of agricultural enterprises has been the topic of debate for the past decade. Many developing/poor countries who earn their living from agriculture continuously suffer from poverty and hunger as a result of the increasing pressures on the world's resource base. Policymakers are gripped with finding solutions to problems such as structural and technological constraints, inappropriate domestic policies and an unfavourable external economic environment. As a result, the growth of these economies has been slow, undernourishment has been increasing and the marginalization of these countries in the global economy has continued. This trend has created problems for developing countries over the past decade. Economic and financial
As discussed in Chapter 21 of our text book, any company that is looking to expand globally must make five key decisions. A firm must decide if: a) they really want to expand to the international market; b) they
After sifting through the leads and finding the right ones to investigate management must formulate an international marketing plan. This further helps management in locating potential markets for their products. The first step is to use secondary research to find out what the sales potential is in a given market. Asking the questions of need, demand, and support gives one a starting point for research. If we were a company that sold pants we might want to ask the following questions. Is there a need for pants? Is it cold enough there to wear pants? Do people that demand the pants have money? These are the questions that one should ask of potential markets. Table 1-located at the end of the paper-shows the statistics that are needed for a general market picture. After gathering the information from the secondary research, the picture of a potential market becomes more evident. However, to make the picture clearer, one must conduct primary research. This research outlines the specifics of the potential market that directly pertain to the product. Robert Douglas' book, Penetrating the International Market, addresses the issue of locating potential markets in greater detail.2
Companies can decide to go global or to enter international markets for various reasons, and these different objectives at the time of entry that enable the business to produce different strategies and the performance goals, and even forms of market participation.
Hill, Charles W.L., 2003, Competing in the Global Marketplace, 4th edition, The McGraw-Hill companies, Inc., New York