Career Opportunities And Challenges In The Agriculture Biotechnology Industry

Because of our ever-increasing population that is predicted to reach eight billion by 2020, the need for food will remain a top priority, transcending all socio and geo-political boundaries. The increased demand for food will call on agriculture, specifically, to act as the biggest source of industry. And with the increased demand for foodstuff, better-quality yield and huge agricultural output will be required. (Though there has been vast improvement in the sector thanks to the improved quality of seeds, pesticides, and fertilizers.)
This is where the agriculture biotechnologist steps in. Agricultural biotechnologists are professionals who provide a set of tools, which, if incorporated suitably with other technologies, can be used for the sustainable development of agriculture and the food industry as a whole.

Scope of the Agri-Biotech Industry

With increased R&D efforts in the agri-biotech industry, the scope of agriculture-based biotech work has become tremendous. Agriculture biotechnologists’ roles are multifarious. From being people with strong scientific expertise to being good administrators and good marketers with sharp business acumens and strong communication skills, the career options for an agri-biotechnologist are vast. Choosing the right avenue is the main priority.

Nature of the Job

Today, with modern technologies like micro propagation which allows for the multiplication of virus-free plants and tissue cultures, agriculturists have successfully combated natural hindrances to productivity such soil imbalances, crop diseases, and genetic breeding. Therefore, the agriculture-based biotech industry needs people who are qualified in the fields of molecular biology, plant transformation and tissue cultures, biochemistry, plant genetics, pathology, entomology, and agronomy for trait evaluation and integration.

Career Options for Agri-Biotechnologists

The field of agriculture-based biotechnology is evolving each day, offering numerous career options. Besides employing people for research and development, the industry also caters to various other agri-biotech-related fields including horticulture, floriculture, dairying, poultry farming, and fishery. Agri-based biotechnologists can also sharpen their academic skills by working with food processing or post-harvest technology, better known as genetically modified (GM) technology.

Career Challenges in the Agri-Biotech Industry

With growing consciousness of the ills of chemically treated foodstuff, changes in approaches to farming are taking place all over the globe. The stage has been set for the advent of bio-chemicals and bio-insecticides, biofertilizers, and biofuels. Agriculture-biotechnology careers are never short of challenges, both natural and man-made. For instance, in the next two-and-a-half decades alone, the world must produce the same amount of food or more than what it produced in the last 10,000 years.

For a biotechnologist, the challenge does not end with producing sufficient amounts of foodstuff. The challenge lies not only in meeting requirements within deadlines but, at the same time, causing minimal harm to the earth. Agriculture biotechnologists have to combat odds like the depletion of precious top-soil at the rate of seven percent in 10 years in order to fulfill the increasing water requirements which will have doubled by that time.

Other Career Options

Several other career openings are available for agri-business graduates. From the more general opportunities within the agricultural and land-based sectors such as equine management, animal science, and horticulture, to global buying and trading of agricultural produce, the opportunities are vast for agriculture biotechnologists.

Career Choices For Young Generations Is Agriculture Still A Viable Option

These days there are several career choices for younger generation, some of these industries are more lucrative than the others and even in this modern times industries such as agriculture and forestry is still an option. However, does a career in agriculture can be as satisfying in terms of prospects and salaries as one in finance, insurance or engineering? Career paths in agriculture have its own pros and cons and we shall investigate these in the following next chapters.

First of all let us start our investigation with the prospective salary conditions. Salaries in agriculture are clearly lower than in any high paying industries. This lower figure are supported with a higher job security; large business entities working in this field are often enjoy continuous government funding in order to compensate the high business risks associated with animal husbandry and crop production such as weather conditions, pests and various diseases. Hence, being employed in a private agricultural business entity the employees can always feel the protective hands of the government yet not in that extent as those employed in the public sector.

People working in agriculture also enjoy a very healthy lifestyle involving long walks in the countryside and generally being outdoors on a regular basis. Those who are employed in finance and insurance spend weeks and months in overcrowded office environment surrounded by fluorescent lights and flickering screens. This sort of environment combined with high stress can often lead to serious health implications thus making a career in the agriculture seeming more valuable than are those in the highflying investment banking.

Should you become fed up with the work in rural settings you can always move to your nearby city and try to find another job there; with your skills you gained being in the management in an agricultural enterprise means that you have acquired a good set of transferable skills. These will always valued well in other industries as well thus you can be sure that a career change will not mean a great difficulty for you at all.

Last but not least, working in the agriculture naturally brings you in the heart of many small rural communities meaning that you will be socially accepted and you can be a useful part of such a community. Working in an office of a multi-national IT-firm can leave you with a strange feeling that you are not more than a number on a spreadsheet.

Having investigated several attributes of an agriculture-related career it is easy to accept that in contrast of lower salaries there are plenty of advantages making this career choice more valuable than the rest. Also, if you are still concerned because of lower salary prospects you can be assured; living in the country is always cheaper than living in a large city, so at the end the day your salary might even have a positive balance compared to one of an IT-executive.

Agriculture Stocks To Feed Into Your Portfolio

Will farmers be driving Ferraris in ten years? That’s what Jim Rogers, the immortal billionaire investor who founded the Quantum fund, thinks. We’ll have to wait and see if that turns out to be true, but his sentiment is based upon a few key factors that continue to put upward pressure on the prices of agricultural goods.

3 Factors That Could Effect Agriculture Stock Prices

1.) Emerging Market Demand

Emerging-market economies like China and India are growing by leaps and bounds, enriching the citizens of those countries and creating more demand for higher-end food products. But due to a combination of rolling demand and massive populations, these countries lack the infrastructure and production capacities to satisfy that ‘hunger’. China, for example, is home to 22% of the world’s population but just 7% of its arable land. So in order to fill the gap, these countries will need to enlarge their imports, which stand to be a boon for long-term gains in the agriculture stocks industry.

2.) Inflation Hedge

With the Dollar collapsing at a fast pace, investors continue to flock to companies that trade in ‘hard assets’, and the agricultural stocks complex definitely qualifies. Although corn, beans and wheat are down sharply from last year, prices have recently begun to rebound and move higher. Hard assets are currency neutral and will continue to be a great investment destination for anyone alarmed about the ruining of paper currencies.

3.) Global Weather Volatility

Farmers live in a shaky world. One season, they spend months praying for rain to nourish their crop; then in the next season, the crop gets wiped out because of too much rain. Just this summer, sugar prices soared to a new 28-year high after a drought killed production in India. Ag producers need just the right balance of rain, sunshine and nutrients to produce the desired yield, something that consistently effects production and, in turn, prices.

Now that we have a essential understanding of the underlying essentials affecting prices and consumption in agriculture, let’s go ahead and take a look at some companies that appear to be well positioned to profit from the trend.

4 Agriculture Stocks

The Anderson’s, Inc. (ANDE – Analyst Report) is an agriculture producer and transporter in the U.S. The company’s share price took a hit last year but has since bounced back nicely as the economy and its estimates have recovered. With the current-year Zacks Consensus Estimate pegged at $2.22, this Zacks #1 Rank stock offers some value with a P/E of 15X. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for agriculture stocks next year is bullish, projecting 27% earnings growth for this agriculture stock.

China Green Agriculture, Inc. (CGA – Snapshot Report) operates as a fertilizer producer out of China. Shares posted big gains this year as China’s economy has remained hot (recently reporting GDP growth of 8.9%). Next year’s agriculture stocks growth projection for the company is a bullish 57%.

Zhongpin Inc. (HOGS) has posted huge agriculture stocks gains in 2009, with its share price more than doubling after bottoming out just above $7 in early March. The Chinese-based agriculture producer and Zacks #1 Rank stock offers big value in a very bullish environment, trading at just 10X projected current-year earnings, with a solid 18% next-year growth projection to boot.

Deere Co. (DE – Analyst Report) builds and manufactures farming machines and equipment. Farmers will be seeking to upgrade their equipment if they’re raking in big bucks, and that will provide shares of DE with a very nice boost. As it stands, the company’s share price is down from its peak in early 2008, but has begun to rebound on a nice earnings beat last quarter and rising agriculture stocks estimates.

Agriculture Stocks Conclusion

When you take a composite view of the agricultural stocks landscape, it’s easy to see that there are a number of macro-level trends that could produce long-term growth prospects. It’s a great way to round out your portfolio and give you a chance to outperform the averages over the long haul.

The Safety Of Our Food Supply Is In The Hands Of Agriculture Workers

Many people are not aware of the enormous role that agricultural workers play in our daily lives. It is obvious that the fruits and vegetables that we eat come from farms. However, agriculture jobs affect far more aspects of the typical diet than solely plant matter. The animals that we consume eat grains that are cultivated by farmers. Even the most processed foods such as cookies and crackers contain farm-grown products, and many preserved foods utilize agriculturally-derived products to sustain the substances’ nutrients and prevent the growth of harmful bacteria.

Agriculture jobs are therefore extremely important in protecting our world’s food supply. While we might not exclusively consume fruits and vegetables, all of our food products are linked in some way to the farms.

The most typical agriculture job that people associate with this field is that of the basic farmer. Society’s modern farmers do not receive nearly the amount of credit that they deserve. These workers labor long hours in oftentimes harsh conditions in order to provide the general public with the sustenance that it needs, and although industrial machines are replacing the jobs of many agricultural farmers, these people still play an enormous role in protecting the world’s food supply.

However, not all agricultural jobs involve the planting and harvesting that most people envision when discussing this area of study. Agricultural scientists are immensely important in providing society with the food that it needs. These scientists study crops and livestock in order to discover more efficient methods of farming. Pest control methods, sustainability, and environmental impact are also researched extensively to ensure that farm products can still be provided to the world’s citizens in the years to come. These scientists perform numerous experiments to try to discover new compounds that can be safely consumed or added to the soil to improve crop yield. In recent years, agricultural scientists have increased the world’s crop yield by an astounding percentage. Their work in creating new agricultural methods to make farming more accessible to be people in rough environments also helps to eliminate worldwide hunger.

Whether the agriculture job involves complex scientific research or the simple maintenance of a field of crops, workers in this field are incredibly important to the welfare of modern society. Without the hard labor of farmers and agricultural scientists, we would not be able to produce enough food to sustain the world’s population. Agriculture jobs play a central role in ensuring the health of the world’s people.

Organized Food Retail Driving the Agriculture Sector in India

IMARC Group, one of the world’s leading research and advisory firms, finds that the agriculture market in India is expected to grow robustly in the coming years reaching sales worth INR 42,707 Billion by 2017-18. Findings from the report suggest that a number of factors are currently inducing a major transformation in this sector. These include – a newfound interest of the organized sector, new and improved technologies, farming becoming more mechanized, new markets and demands, easy credit facilities, rapid growth of contract farming, agriculture friendly policies from the government, etc.

The report finds that, although currently small, the Indian organized food retail market has immense potential. The total market for organized food retail was worth INR 221 Billion in 2011-12 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 14% reaching revenues worth INR 477 Billion by 2017-18. Organized food retail outlets such as Reliance, Vishal Mega Mart, Spencer Retail, Future Group, etc, have now opened their outlets not only in the metros but also in the smaller cities of India. Organized retail outlets are currently offering consumers an access to a diversified range of products directly or indirectly related to the agriculture sector. The report expects an access to a very wide range of products coupled with attractive discounts to create a positive impact on the agriculture sector in India.

IMARC Group’s new report entitled -Indian Agriculture Market Report & Forecast: 2012-2017- provides an analytical and statistical insight into the agriculture industry along with its various segments and sub-segments. The study that has been undertaken using both desk-based and qualitative primary research has analyzed various aspects and provides a comprehensive understanding of the Indian agriculture market. The report can serve as an excellent guide for investors, researchers, consultants, marketing strategists, and all those who are looking to foray into the Indian agriculture market in some form or the other.

To buy the complete report or to get a free sample, please contact:

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