Agrispective with Subramani Ra Mancombu

India imports nearly 10 million tonnes of palm oil each year—making it a cornerstone of the country’s food system and a subject of intense debate. In this episode of Businessline’s Agrispective Podcast, host Subramani Ra Mancombu speaks with Sumit Roy, Assistant General Manager, Palm Oil Programme at Solidaridad Asia, to unpack the complexities surrounding this widely used yet controversial commod...

In this episode of BusinessLine’s Agrispective podcast, host Subramani Ra Mancombu explores the evolving landscape of Indian agriculture with M Ramakrishnan, Managing Director at Primus Partners. India’s farm sector continues to be the backbone of the economy—supporting over half the workforce and delivering record-breaking production in key crops like rice, wheat, and maize. But beneath these ach...

In this episode of the BusinessLine Agrospective Podcast, Subramani Ra Mancombu speaks with Ankur Aggarwal, chairman of CropLife India and executive chairman & managing director of Crystal Crop Protection ltd, on how geopolitical tensions are impacting global agrochemical supply chains, raw material availability and input costs for farmers. The Indian agrochemical and agri-input sector is navigati...

In this episode of businessline’s Agrispective Podcast, host Subramani Ra Mancombu talks to Soumyak Biswas, Partner, BDO India, on how India can reduce post-harvest losses from farm to market. Biswas explains that losses of ₹90,000 to ₹1 lakh crore arise across harvesting, handling, storage, transport and processing, and stresses the need to address the entire value chain together. He highlights t...

In this episode of businessline’s Agrispective Podcast, host Subramani M R speaks with Ramesh Ramachandran, MD & CEO of Mahindra AgriSolutions and MD of Mahindra EPC Irrigation.  They discuss how technology is reshaping Indian agriculture. Ramachandran highlights the impact of biotech-driven, climate-resilient seed varieties and early-duration crops that boost farmer incomes. The discussion covers...

In this episode of businessline’s Agrispective Podcast, host Subramani M R speaks with Pinakin Simaria, Head – Agribusiness Group at Kotak Mahindra Bank, on the rapid evolution of India’s agricultural cold storage and post-harvest infrastructure.  India’s cold storage capacity has crossed 39 million tonnes, with utilisation levels rising sharply in recent years. While potatoes continue to dominate...

In this episode of businessline’s Agrispective Podcast, host Subramani Ra Mancombu speaks with Rajesh Aggarwal, MD of Insecticides India Limited, on India’s rise as the third-largest agrochemical exporter. With exports hitting $3.3 billion and domestic turnover at ₹69,000 crore ($8 billion), the sector is booming.   Aggarwal shares how companies are navigating raw material volatility, price cycles...

This episode looks at the fast-moving climate workforce revolution and what it means for agriculture. Subramani Ra Mancombu speaks with Amit Banka, founder and chief executive of WeNaturalists, about how climate action has shifted from boardrooms to community-led movements across the world. Banka explains why the past decade has seen rapid awareness and participation, especially among young people...

In this episode of BusinessLine’s Agrispective, host Subramani Ra Mancombu speaks with Professor. Rajeswari Raina, Shiv Nadar University, about the challenges and opportunities facing Indian agriculture under climate change. Prof. Raina explains how agriculture, a state subject under the Constitution, requires regionally differentiated policies that can anticipate and respond to climate shocks. Sh...

In this episode of BusinessLine's Agrispective, host Subramani Mancombu talks with Dr. RS Paroda, former Director General of ICAR, about the transformative potential of gene editing in agriculture.  Dr. Paroda explains how gene editing, using tools like CRISPR-Cas, allows precise changes to crop DNA to improve traits such as drought tolerance, pest resistance, and nutrient content—without introduc...

In this episode of Agrispective, businessline’s Subramani Ra Mancombu speaks with Naveen Patidar, CEO of the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP), about the growing role of women in Indian agriculture. While women contribute to nearly 80% of farm and livestock activities, their access to land ownership, credit, and income remains limited. The episode begins with how rural women are stepping in...