Career prospects for Agriculture graduates

Dr Yengkokpam Ranjana Devi *

Before choosing to study agriculture or any agriculture course after Class XII, it will be helpful to know the career prospects and job options. There’s a strong perception that a degree in Agriculture doesn’t offer job opportunities.

Looking at the present scenario, this perception is a misconception. For the youth today, agriculture is not a cool option. They prefer engineering and medicine, and post-graduate degrees like the MBA. The perception exist that agriculture means an archaic lifestyle and a future with limited opportunities. This is basically due to the lack of awareness on the various employment scopes of an Agriculture graduate.

In simple language Agriculture is the art and science of cultivating the soil, growing crops and raising livestock. It includes the preparation of plant and animal products for people to use and their distribution to markets. So, agriculture is a broad-based course with great potential with courses ranging from food production, soil health, entomology, horticulture, animal rearing, farm mechanization, natural resource management, extension education, etc.

Agriculture, with its allied sectors, is unquestionably the largest livelihood provider in India, more so in the vast rural areas. It plays chiefly a role in economy and it is considered to be the backbone of economic system for developing countries. Agriculture provides employment to roughly half of India’s workforce and contributes to 17% of India’s GDP.

It is the primary source of livelihood for about 58% of India’s population. It is an irony that being a primary source of livelihood for the majority of Indians, Agriculture remains the last priority among students in choosing a career option. It should be kept in mind that other industries may face downsizing but agriculture can never fall prey because “food” is the basic necessity for life.

Feeding the people will never face a recession or a slowdown. Economists have pointed out that agriculture is four times more effective than other sectors in reducing poverty. It can even be a gold mine for young entrepreneurs

Where to study Agriculture ?

National Agricultural Research and Education System in India is one of the largest National networks of Agricultural Education System in the world, comprising of 75 agricultural universities.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) works in a partnership mode with State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) & Central Agricultural Universities (CAUs) and has taken several steps to promote agricultural education in the country like accreditation of agricultural universities, their colleges and programmes for improving the standards, quality and relevance of higher agricultural education.

The undergraduate degree programme is of minimum 4 years duration. The following 11 disciplines are offered for pursuing Bachelor’s degree programme across all the universities under ICAR system:
(1) Agriculture
(2) Horticulture
(3) Forestry
(4) Fisheries
(5) Community Science
(6) Food Nutrition and Dietetics
(7) Sericulture
(8) Agricultural Engineering
(9) Dairy Technology
(10) Food Technology and
(11) Biotechnology

Who can apply?

All the class 12 Science passed students with a basic interest in the agriculture sector can apply for Agriculture course. Course fees are considerably lower in comparison to other professional degrees, while rewarding with good jobs and a better package. All the undergraduate programmes offer the scope for pursuing higher education by joining MSc and PhD degree programmes.

There are a total of 95 courses at Post-graduate level and 80 courses at PhD level in agriculture and allied subjects in India. Apart from this, they can go for Master’s degree in Business Administration, ie MBA (Agri-business).

How to avail Scholarships ?

To attract talented students to pursue higher agricultural education, ICAR offers the following scholarships/fellowships:
o Post-matric Scholarship for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates
o Merit-cum-means scho-larship for undergraduate studies
o Apprenticeship/Internship allowance to Veterinary graduates
o Scholarships/Fellowships through All India En- trance Examination
o Institute Scholarship at ICAR-Deemed to be Universities
o International Fellowships for globalization of agricultural education like Netaji Subhas-ICAR International Fellowships and Fellowships under India-Africa Forum Summit, India-Afghanistan fellowship programme and Nepal Aid Fund.

The details of these scholarships/ fellowships are available at Agricultural Education portal (https:// education.icar.gov.in/) of ICAR. Moreover, the students can also avail scholarships from other funding agencies like their respective State Governments, Central Government Scholarship Schemes, North East Council etc.

What are the aims of the agricultural curriculum?

The agricultural curriculum is as per the guidelines of Indian Council of Agriculture Research and is multi-disciplinary covering a wide array of subjects into its fold which makes its product “agri-graduates” multi-functional and suitable for a broad spectrum of career options.

These undergraduate degree courses have recently been declared as professional degree courses by the ICAR which has further encouraged the pursuit of learning agriculture and allied science subjects.

What are the career opportunities ?

Career options for agricultural graduates and postgraduates predominantly exist in academics, research and the industry

o There are plenty of job opportunities in various Central and State departments for agricultural graduates to join :
Agriculture Officer or Agriculture Development Officer (ADO) in Agriculture Department;
Horticulture Development Officer in Horticulture Department;
Soil Conservation Officer in Soil and Water conservation Department etc.;
Technical Assistant/Training Assistant in SAUs/ICAR institutes, DRDO, CSIR, etc;
Horticulture Inspector/Food Inspector and Vegetable Inspector/ Marketing Inspector/ADO etc.
in various State departments. Recruitment to these posts is made on the basis of competitive examination conducted by the State Public Service Commission/concerned department/Institutes.

o A number of Nationalized banks and private sector banks offer openings for agriculture and allied science graduates as Field Officers, Rural Development Officers and Agricultural and Probationary Officers.

o Several government agencies at Centre, State and district levels (eg MARKFED, PUNSUP, Mandi Board, various other State level and Central level agricultural boards and organizations, etc.) has openings for agricultural graduates.

o Various corporations and agencies viz. National Seed Corporation, State Farm Corporation, Warehousing Corporation, Food Corporation and agricultural food processing and export related agencies, etc. also provide job openings to agriculturists.

o Agro-based industries such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and sugar industries are some of the potential sectors in which a large number of agri-graduates may get placement.

o Bachelor degree holders can apply for some technical posts in ICAR institutes and are also eligible to apply for Indian Civil Services examination (IAS/IFS and Allied Services) conducted by Union Public Service Commission, New Delhi and can also apply for State Civil Services Examination

o Agriculture graduates can become good entrepreneurs. There are a number of success stories of agri-preneurs in the field of agriculture, horticulture, etc. The Student READY programme introduced by the ICAR in the undergraduate curriculum motivates them to seek self-employment and become entrepreneurs which eventually helps them to turn out as job providers rather than job seekers. There is a great opportunity for Start-ups and standup programmes in agriculture and its allied sectors

o Irrespective of whether one is a fresh graduate or not, or whether one is currently employed or not, one can set up one’s own Agri-Clinic or Agri-Business Centre and offer professional extension services under NABARD to innumerable farmers. MANAGE, Hyderabad, organizes ‘free of cost’training programs for students for a period of three months. On completion, students get a certificate which is a pre-requisite for the individuals before qualifying to secure a loan up to 5 lakh from the Nationalized banks funded by NABARD. This financial support helps the graduates to set up their agri-based business.

o Nowadays agricultural education has become internationalized and there is a growing demand for Indian agricultural graduates to get employment in foreign countries, particularly Middle East and African countries. Plenty of opportunities are also available in other foreign countries, especially USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and Japan. Also students may appear for examinations like TOEFL, GRE and IELTS in order to pursue higher education abroad.

o For post graduate & PhD degree holders, one can apply for Subject Matter Specialist (SMS) in Krishi Vigyan Kendras, Technical posts like T-6 & above in ICAR Institutes, Research Associates or Senior Research Fellow in ICAR funded research schemes. One may choose career under ICAR in the areas of research and become an Agricultural Research Scientist (ARS). The recruitment to these posts is made through ARS/ NET examination conducted by ASRB.

o PhD & NET qualified candidates can opt for a career in teaching and can apply for teaching positions in SAUs/CAUs/ Central Universities/ ICAR institutes offering agricultural degree programs.

Agriculture is still a growing area and is more diverse now than ever before, offering a wide variety of jobs. Agricultural technology is also advancing fast, creating new jobs. With the industry on the ascent, but with college students uninformed about the opportunities in this field there is an understandable shortage of talent in this field.

With the present Government’s focus on agriculture, experts say that there will be more jobs available in agriculture and allied industries, than ever before. Salaries are increasing and a career in agriculture is today as rewarding as any other, if not more. So, its high time to encourage students to take up Agriculture as a subject.