This is a popular job role with mostly operating in close contact with the farmers in supervising and bringing efficiency into the day to day activities on the fields.
You can expect specific questions around the positioning of the company in the value chain and product/service categories in which they operate. The questions suggested below provide can serve as a good preparatory questions set for a sales roles across the value chain:
- What are the financing challenges faced by small & medium scale farmers? What approaches/solutions are currently popular in resolving smallholder finance issues?
- What is value chain finance? Under what conditions would value chain finance work for small & medium scale farmers?
- What criteria should farmers used to get the most appropriate seeds for their cropping?
- What are different ways to irrigate a crop? What criteria should farmers use to choose the irrigation method?
- What is precision agriculture? What is needed to achieve precision agriculture outcomes?
- What is the value of precision agriculture for small and medium scale farmers?
- What sorting and grading innovations are finding adoption for fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers, milk and meat?
- What cold chain innovations are finding adoption for fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers, milk and meat?
- How can we assess the financial value/benefits of organic labels/certifications?
- What type of fertilisers are allowed in organic agriculture?
- What is the current approach of smallholders while making their crop choice decision?
- How can digital technologies support the smallholders w.r.t crop management from sowing to harvesting?
- What criteria are used for choosing the packaging for fresh products?
- How can packaging be used to maintain right RH (relative humidity) for different food products)?
- What are risks to be considered in cash flow based lending?
If you are comfortable in answering and having a good discussion on the above questions we wish you a lot of success. If you would like to have preparation support we recommend you the following digital school courses:
- Introduction to Agri Finance (relevant for job roles dealing with farmers)
- Agriculture Basics (relevant for all types of job roles)
- Basics of precision agriculture(relevant for job roles dealing with farming operations)
- Introduction to Food distribution system (relevant for job roles dealing in post harvest activities)
- Organic & regenerative agriculture (relevant for job roles dealing with farmers/farm activities)
- Digital Innovations in Agriculture Extension (relevant for job roles dealing with farmers/farm activities)
- Introduction to packaging and transportation (relevant for job roles dealing in post harvest activities)
- Cash Flow Financing in Agribusiness (relevant for roles dealing with farmers)