The driving force behind the economical growth of India is agriculture. India is known to the world as one of the leading agricultural countries and even today majority of India population is dependent on agriculture. Agricultural country does not imply that the country is engaged only in the production of food crops and vegetables. Agriculture is much more than this. The impact of agriculture in India is not only on the production of food grains, vegetables and fruits, but on also on the many industrial goods which are manufactured by various industries which are dependent on agriculture sector in the form of raw materials. In recent years, with the use of advance farming technologically, genetically improved seeds and hi-bred varieties for high yield, the state of agriculture has improved a lot. Agriculture is playing a great role in the economic development of the country, contributing 29.4% of GDP, employing more than 64% of the work force. India also has enormous potential as an exporter of agricultural commodities.
Nowadays, agriculture is considered a good career option for many. There are agricultural universities, institutions and Postgraduate colleges where agricultural research and education, including veterinary science is being undertaken. Since agriculture is the mainstay of our economy, there is no doubt that this sector can provide ample
job opportunities for the young crowd in both rural and urban areas.
The agriculture sector is itself very huge with various sub sectors which are interdependent on each other. The jobs in this sector range from the completely academic pursuits of research and teaching to inspection and other supervisory work. There is also the scope of commercial activities like establishing farms, orchards, plantations and also exporting. The agriculture industry has become highly scientific, modern and mechanized and hence, very profitable too. The other allied industries include horticulture, forestry, dairying and poultry farming that have also become economically viable opportunities today.
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Courses / Training for an Agricultural Career
Graduate and Postgraduate Courses : This is a bachelor's degree or a post graduate degree course in agriculture for a duration of 3 to 5 provided at all the agricultural universities in the country. Candidates can take admission directly after class 12 (science) for a graduate course at any state agricultural university. For PG courses in university, the candidate should have a minimum aggregate of 50% marks in the graduate course or the entrance test conducted by the concerned university.
Indian Council of Agricultural Research Conduct the entrance examination separately for graduate and postgraduate courses each year in the month of April / May. For graduate course, the eligibility requirement is 12th pass in science / agriculture with 50% marks for Graduate level courses. For postgraduate level courses the eligibility criteria is B.Sc / B.Sc (Ag) with 60% marks. All the agricultural universities provide Ph.D degree in different discipline.
There are more than 40 agriculture colleges in India which offer M.Sc (Agr) / M.Tech degree in different discipline. The various subjects that can be specialized in agriculture course are agronomy, horticulture, plant physiology, soil science, agricultural economics, agricultural chemistry, agricultural statistics, animal husbandry, dairy etc.
There are marketing and management programs in agriculture industry like farming system management, plant genetics & breeding, animal genetics, agricultural marketing management. There are Agricultural Engineering Courses as well.
Job Prospects in Agriculture Career
- Agricultural Research
- Agricultural Education
- Agriculture Science
- Agro Business
- Agro Industry
- Agricultural Journalism
- Services in Agriculture
- Farming
- Banking
- Conservation
- Agricultural Engineering
- Management
- Seri-culture
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