Courses

Agribusiness

Year 11 and 12 ATAR Pathway|Commerce

Agribusiness

Grant Bennett
Assistant Curriculum Leader - Commerce

Agribusiness

Grant Bennett

Agriculture is the world’s largest industry with a wide variety of employment opportunities. Agribusinesses are sophisticated and need people with a broad variety of skills. The Agribusiness ATAR course enables students to develop knowledge and skills related to the business decisions needed to run enterprises from production to marketing, adding value at all stages of the production process.

Agriculture makes a significant contribution to Australia’s economy through investment, employment of skilled workers, consumption of products from other sectors of the economy, and export income. The value chain, from production enterprises (for example, farms) to processing plants, to retail outlets and exports, including research and development, is a major contributor to Australia’s economic activity.

Domestic and international demand, particularly from Asia, for high quality and safe food and fibre, presents a positive outlook for the Australia’s agriculture and food sector. Demand will continue for people skilled in combining scarce resources and for innovative methods of production and marketing. The Agribusiness course aims to develop students’:

  • skills and knowledge in the application of economics principles to food and fibre enterprises from production to consumption
  • understanding of the factors internal to an agribusiness, including finance and accounting, marketing, human resource management, and production
  • understanding of the factors external to an agribusiness that influence its decisions, including market preferences and consumer demands, economics of domestic and international trade, and government regulations
  • understanding of the multiple interlinking factors, internal and external to businesses involved in the food and fibre production systems, that influence their decisions
  • knowledge and understanding needed to make informed decisions about adding value to food and natural fibre products to deliver a high-quality marketable product from food and fibre produced in Australia
  • appreciation of the diversity of career pathways and employment opportunities in the agribusiness sector.

Courses

Year 11 ATAR Agribusiness

The Year 11 syllabus is divided into two units, each of one semester duration, which are typically delivered as a pair.

Unit 1

In this unit, students learn about what agribusinesses are and their role in the Australian economy. They learn about the concept of the agribusiness value chain and the various challenges facing the local and global agribusiness industry. Students explore factors internal to businesses involved in food and fibre production systems that impact on the decisions that need to be made for the successful operation of a business.

Unit 2

In this unit, students learn about Australia as a global producer of agricultural products, and how scarcity and choice in society impact on resource allocation in an agribusiness context. They learn about the laws of supply and demand and how price is determined in a competitive market. They are introduced to risk factors important in creating sustainable agribusinesses and to the concept of entrepreneurship and its relationship to innovation in agribusiness.