Business Development Specialist for the Proposed Maharashtra Agribusiness Network Project (MAGNET) in India

The proposed Maharashtra Agribusiness Network Project (MAGNET) will support the state government of Maharashtra through a holistic approach combining a project loan and financial intermediation loan modalities.

The project is aligned with the following impacts:

• achieve average agriculture sector growth rate of 5 per cent;
• promote agriculture produce export;
• and establish fair, competitive, and accessible agriculture markets.

The project’s outcome is: Maharashtra’s horticultural production values and FPOs’ profits increased. The outputs comprise

• (i) institutional capacities of agribusiness institutions and FPOs strengthened,
• (ii) financial and agribusiness capacities of FPOs and value chain operators (VCOs) strengthened, and
• (iii) agriculture value chain infrastructure improved and operational.

Detailed tasks and/or expected outputs. The consultant will be responsible for the following specific tasks and any other relevant matters:

• (i) work closely with ADB project team, MAGNET Society and other government staff, PISC, and other relevant stakeholders throughout the TA implementation;
• (ii) review MAGNET project documents and outputs of high-level technology consultants, project preparatory consulting firm, post-harvest management and direct marketing studies, and other relevant documents;
• (iii) assess, from business development perspective, the current status and gaps of target crops’ value chains, aggregation, and formation of FPOs in Maharashtra;
• (iv) develop crop-wise assessment and proposals on trade volume and price projections and targets;
• (v) contribute to development crop-wise assessment and proposals on market access and expansion for both domestic and export markets including branding concepts; and capacity development plans of FPOs to enhance their business, financial, and technical capacity and utilize high-level and innovative agriculture technologies and women members; and
• (vi) promote use of high-level and innovative technologies in agribusiness and agriculture value chains of the target crops through various means especially with anchor FPOs and leading VCOs;
• (vii) contribute to development of training material and implementation of capacity development activities from business development perspectives.