Speech by Dr. Davish Jain at AIMS Annual Convention, Indore

I welcome the opportunity of sharing my thoughts with the assembled leading lights of India’s B-Schools and other renowned management institutions from all parts of India.

It is heartening that you have chosen the city of Indore for your AIMS annual convention. Indore has been the traditional hub of family business and has flair for entrepreneurship and innovative business management in its blood stream.

The theme of the convention is linking micro-level management strategies with the longer macro-level vision of connectivity to the three basic forces of significance namely State, market and people.  That will set India on the path of good governance parallel with accelerated process of development.

I propose to present before you a live experience of epoch making event in the agri sector of M.P. which brought out inspiring example of innovative management strategy of managing a serious crisis.

The spot light is on the unique leadership traits displayed by first generation technocrat entrepreneur Dr. N.N. Jain.  Initially in a span of 30 years, he imbibed in depth all round experience of managing an agro-based industry involving technology men, materials and money management.

With this background, he ventured to start his own industry picking up the miracle Soybean – one of the oldest protein rich oilseeds known to mankind. He played a pioneering role in opening doors for export of Soymeal to Global destinations.

I have deliberately chosen to talk to you about this “very real, in the field, case study which revolutionized the fortunes of millions of soybean farmers and revitalized and ailing agro based export oriented industry.”

With his visionary approach, thoughtful ingenuity and flair for management, he made his mark as one of the founding fathers of the Golden Soybean Revolution.  In course of time oilseeds industry honoured him as the living legend of Soyabean Industry.

His innovative spirit and organizational creativity came in full bloom when he was Chairman, SOPA and the “Sunrise Industry” was suddenly face to face with a grave existential crisis in 1986.

Due to drought conditions, production witnessed a drastic decline threatening the closure of a large number of processing units. Farmers, who had earlier switched over from food to this remunerative cash crop, suddenly faced a bleak future.

Theodore Levitt has observed aptly: ‘Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing these new things.’

Without losing a moment, Mr. N.N. Jain initiated a farsighted, yet, bold program of increasing domestic production of Soyabean on a war footing. He rejected the clamour for persuading the Government to allow import of Soyabean to keep the industry going. He realized that the country could ill-afford any drain on already scarce foreign exchange resources in the context of unavoidable heavy imports of petroleum products.

He advised the industry to launch a programme of increasing production and productivity with a clarion call.

He devised a strategy of unique collective action involving all stakeholders ranging from farmers, processors leading agricultural institutes and experts, agricultural input suppliers, concerned Government departments, agricultural extension workers, and publicity agencies.

He constituted a group of 10 select experts from among all stake holders, and did brainstorming to give shape to a concrete program of action. 60 agricultural students were selected from agriculture universities and given 10 days intensive training on how to convince the farmers to take to cost effective, affordable practical measures for selecting higher-yielding seeds from their stocks, adopting better farming methods, applying needed fertilizers, and refining agricultural tools.

Prestige Group adopted two villages for this purpose and urged other industrialists also to do the same. Being family-owned businesses, decision making was easy. Some 20 districts were selected in the soya belt of Malwa region of M.P. 15-20 villages were covered daily by jeeps with educative publicity, material, video-cassette demonstration on improved farming methods. To get sponsorship for literature publicity Fertilizer Company’s top brass was contacted. Seed input companies were given endorsement by SOPA. Audio Visual Film a dramatic version of right package of practices for Soya cultivation was made in Bollywood Mumbai.

Government’s agricultural department offered all help and Block Development officers, Gram Sewaks and others were attached with the team. The programme was made self-financing by the family owned Soyabean processors.

The entire campaign took the shape of a determined well-managed and pragmatic result bearing campaign of the collective NGO.

The entire campaign proved what Warren Bennis, a management specialist has observed:

‘Innovation by definition will not be accepted at first, It takes repeated and  endless demonstrations, monotonous rehearsals before innovation can be accepted and internalized by an organization. This requires courageous patience.’

FRUITFUL RESULTS

Lo and behold, coupled with rain God responding simultaneously and rains coming at the right time, the success of the campaign was assured. It proved the adage____.

‘God helps those who help themselves.’

Annual production of Soyabean jumped from 7.5 lac MT to 16 lac MT export of oilcakes and meals increased almost from fold from Rs. 386 crores to Rs. 1284 crores against the normal growth of 30% in all other oil seeds in general while Soyabean production went by 332%.

The all stakeholders-inclusive campaign launched by totally non-red tape cluster of family owned industries worked like a magic. The slogan of ‘Soybean Ugaiye – Khushali Paiye” spread like wild fire in the villages and a key to farmers’ brighter fortune.

CONCLUSION

Thus a farsighted & committed entrepreneur changed the track of an entire industry, and prevented a ‘sun-rise’ industry into becoming a ‘sun-set’ industry.

This assured India reasserting with confidence as the 5th top ranking oilseeds economy in the world next only to USA, Brazil, Argentina and China.

Thus the visionary leader set a unique example of innovative approach to a total industry crisis with bold strokes marshaling active involvement of all the stakeholders and blazing a trail to the upliftment of India’s agro-economic situation with focus on making farming remunerative for millions of farmers. His contribution was recognized by the entire agro-business industry which awarded him with befitting title of ‘Soya Man of the Millennium’.

Farmers were overwhelmed by the down-to-earth industry initiative, Research Gurus applauded the pace-settings results and the Government lent its wholehearted support to this totally non-bureaucratic campaign which transformed a crisis into an opportunity.

The campaign proved what Bill Gates has said: ‘Never before has innovation offered promise of so much to so many in so short a time’.

 Thanks

Friends, the sum and substance of what I have narrated is that and imaginative initiative on the part of industry can produce phenomenal results for millions for farmers. Not only the industry benefitted but farmers benefitted much more. Industry was seen not with a self cultured profiteer, but a way of Prosperity / Happiness for more than 5 million soybean growers / farmers / planter / cultivators / harvesters.