Global trade increasing | Students with an agricultural degree will be in demand worldwide
Agricultural MBAs (Master of Business Administration) are hot right now, with a surge in interest from overseas students and North American corporations working in the global market.
The increased interest has inspired the University of Guelph to revive an old MBA program that it had abandoned and add a new one.
“Our industry is globalizing,” said Ken Smith, associate dean of executive programs at the U of G’s College of Management and Economics.
“The fastest growing markets in the future will be the developing markets. (Domestic corporations think) we don’t know those markets very well. Wouldn’t it be good to have some students who have gone there and seen how those markets work?”
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Smith told the recent Canadian Association of Agri-Retailers convention in Winnipeg that the U of G now runs an MBA program with two possible specializations, one being food and agribusiness management.
The specialization attracts managers not only from agricultural companies but also from other areas of the economy that work with agriculture and food.
With virtually all sectors of agriculture growing and profitable, Smith said there is much interest in improving management at agribusinesses.
The current program is based on intense doses of on-campus education: two five-day courses at the beginning of the program, two in the middle and one at the end. The rest of the work is done by computer and distance learning methods.
The program was once entirely provided on campus, but that made it difficult for managers to participate.
“It’s interactive, intense and team-oriented, but you don’t have to give up your job,” said Smith.
“It’s hard work for a couple of years, but you still have your job.”
However, the U of G is also bringing back an on-campus, 13 month program designed primarily to meet the needs of foreign students who want to experience North American campus life as well as get the core education of the program.
The university also plans a program next year that focuses on agricultural development and leadership for developing nations.
The program, which is still being developed, will involve non-government organizations such as World Vision and the World Food Program and offer overseas internships involving agricultural development projects. It will be a full-time, on-campus course except for the overseas portions.
Smith said many corporations are interested in supporting the program because of the increasing globalization of agricultural trade.
“It’s not just altruism. People realize there are opportunities here. It’s a different game,” said Smith.
“We can’t just export our products. We have to go there and see what works and what doesn’t.”
Beyond that practical consideration, the altruism element has been growing among big agricultural companies, managers and prospective students.
“The MBA got a bit of a bad reputation through the financial crisis — it was called the Degree in Greed by some people — but the people I know with MBAs, and I’ve been hiring them for 25 years, that’s not who they are,” said Smith, who joined the Guelph business school after many years working in business strategic development.
“Especially in agriculture-related businesses, doing a good thing is important to a lot of people.”
The U of G MBA program has seen increased interest from prospective students because of its industry-specific focus, but Smith thinks a tailored agriculture and food MBA will also find greater interest among modern farming and food processing businesses.
“It’s becoming a more sophisticated business because productivity is demanding a greater understanding of technology, and that in turn is driving a greater requirement for scale, so they are bigger businesses in all sorts of ways,” said Smith. “All that adds complexity to the business, so there is potentially a greater role to play for business education.”
