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Celebrating Our Alumnus

RaghvanThe Centre for Global Food and Resources (GFAR) has been producing young leaders in agriculture ever since our Masters program was introduced. In this week’s blog we want to celebrate one such young leader who has gone from strength to strength in his career in international agriculture development. Raghavan is a graduate of our Masters of Agribusiness program of the 2009 cohort graduated from the Waite campus. Raghavan has shared his experience in his own words below.

“My first ever overseas trip was to come to Australia to do my Masters at the University of Adelaide. I was a bit scared about it since I was not comfortable speaking in English and also had difficulties in understanding the accent. But there were a few international students particularly from my State (Tamil Nadu) who helped me a lot during my first few days. Before I realised, Adelaide had become my other home and it felt so easy to move around the cozy city. The staff at the International Student centre and teachers in our Faculty were so helpful and understanding. From there, the next two years became a very important and memorable period of my life, personally and professionally.

The courses that I chose were so interesting and I was happy to have had the choice to study what I wanted. So I enjoyed the learning process all the way as teachers used to challenge us intellectually and we learnt by rising up to the challenge. Besides the coursework, I did internships with Primary Industries and Regions, South Australia (PIRSA) and learnt a lot by visiting the fresh produce markets. Overall the program of a year and a half was very enriching and gave a global perspective of the food and agribusiness sector.

Personally, I feel Waite campus is one of the most beautiful places where I used to just sit quietly and enjoy the lush green surroundings. We had quite a diverse class and we still keep in touch with each other.

After completing the course, I went on to work in different sectors of agribusiness and my last assignment was as Director – Stewardship, with CropLife Asia, an industry association based in Singapore. Recently, I joined The Compound Livestock Feed Manufacturers Association (CLFMA) of India, an association representing the animal protein sector in India, as its Executive Director. In this role, I will be focusing on policy advocacy, voicing the industry’s concerns and also working with industry stakeholders to propel the sector’s overall growth.

I used to take part in the mentoring program by the University of Adelaide and worked with a few students in our Faculty. I would say the Master of Agribusiness program of GFAR laid a solid foundation for my career growth. For someone who hails from a small rural town in India, never had proficiency in English but only the drive and thirst for growth, this is a matter of pride.”

To know more about Raghavan and his career pathway connect with him on LinkedIn.

We are very proud of Raghavan and all his achievements. Our alumni comprises more than 100 professionals spread globally and operating across diverse sectors of the food and agriculture industry, working for private companies, public organisations, NGOs  and as entrepreneurs. We aim to bring you many stories celebrating our alumni in the future.

Blog prepared by GFAR Research Associate, Rohan Yargop.

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