It’s been quite a learning journey so far in Delhi and Punjab, India. We’ve met with agricultural ministers and social entrepreneurs in Delhi and farmer groups and agricultural professors here in Punjab.
The most meaningful part of my experience has been my debrief sessions with the team. The best part about business school is not only learning from a speaker or professor, but the learning from my peers. As a collective team, we wrote down our assumptions before each meeting in silence. This time made us more conscious to not only listen, but listen to how we’re listening.
Our end of day discussions allowed us to observe our thought flow and understand our varying worldviews. In our first nightly conversation about our meeting with the Planning Commission, we heard varying voices.
“They don’t seem to sense the urgency,” said Payal Patel, a former employee at John Deere.
“I was surprised by their emphasis on maximizing natural solutions, but this requires education” said Rodrigo Garza, a student born and raised in Mexico.
Rachel Carter, a former consultant responded, “The solutions must be locally based. How do they meet the different challenges for each region?”
I commented, ”These state programs will only continue to fund programs that are showing quick results which encourages farmers to focus on short term yields.”
We are learning the process to suspend our judgment in order to understand our role and the holistic picture of the agricultural system in India.
Speak Your Mind