About Agribusiness Matters

My name is Venky. While there are excellent agritech newsletters out there, Agribusiness Matters is read by those who want interdisciplinary perspectives on a multi-variable, multi-agent domain called Agriculture in an age of runaway Climate Change.

Feel free to dig around the archives if you are new here. If you’re thinking of subscribing, you probably want to know who I am, and what you can expect from this newsletter.

The Agribusiness Matters Community (across LinkedIn and Substack) is 34K+ strong and growing, with curious readers - Agtech professionals, VCs, and Agribusiness Leaders - across the globe.

Who I am

My name is Venky Ramachandran, and chances are you’re probably here because you already know who I am, in which case scroll on. If you don’t know who I am, check out my LinkedIn profile, and sample some of my agribusiness writings first.

What this is

You might want to subscribe (or continue your ongoing subscription) if you want to…

…interrogate wicked, existential questions that sit at the uncomfortable interstices of Climate Change, Sustainability & Agriculture.

…venture boldly into the wilderness and grope the beast called Agriculture with humbling awareness of the impossibility of the task - We are the blind men, with each of us, trying to cope with the mysteries of the beast, grabbing hold of some part or other, and, in the words of John Godfrey Saxe’s poem:

Rail on in utter ignorance of what each other mean, And prate about an Elephant Not one of [us] has seen!

Each part of the Elephant, as seen in my stunted imagination, by various people who work in the domain of agriculture. Remember this. The elephant is more than the sum of the parts.

Currently, I publish one deep, subscriber-only article every week. I publish fortnightly Saturday Sprouting Reads to reflect on the week’s theme to everyone on the mailing list. You can subscribe at ₹ 1201/mo or ₹ 12,001/year to access all the paywalled content.

Subscriptions will be offered free for students and all those willing to bring other forms of energy in exchange to enliven and collaborate with the Agribusiness Matters Community. To know more and apply for complimentary subscriptions, click here. If you want to offer group subscriptions to colleges and institutions that are serious about the kind of questions I am interested in pursuing, do write to me at venkyr@hey.com.

You can also find my short, self-reflective writings on my website. Or you can tune in to my chatty self in LinkedIn, where I talk about pretty much everything under the sun.

Welcome aboard!