Scope of Agricultural Education

Agriculture has been the mainstay of Indian economy since ages. The science and art of agriculture has many references in the Vedic literature and the ancient history of the mankind. The agriculture sector in India provides livelihood to about 52% of the population of the country and contributes about 15% to the Gross Domestic Product Trained human resource has been the key factor behind the Green Revolution, White Revolution, Yellow Revolution, that has led India to become self reliant in food and becoming a fast developing economy. Knowledge based, input-use efficient, eco-friendly, and high tech precision agriculture has been the next stage for which efforts have been directed by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Agricultural Universities (Aus) in planning, designing and executing the national agricultural educational programmes. Considering the importance of Agricultural establishment of independent Rural Universities in the country in the year 1948. As a result of this recommendation, first State Agricultural University (SAU) was established in 1960 at Pantnagar (Nainital) on the pattern of the Land Grant Colleges of the United States. The University Grants Commision accorded the status of Deemed-to-be-University (DU) to Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi in 1958 which became the first ICAR Institute as Deemed University conducting postgraduate teaching and research. Today, the country has a large ICAR-AU system with a total of 66 Agricultural Universities (Aus) comprising of 56 State Agricultural, Veterinary, Horticulture and Fisheries Universities, 1 Central Agricultural University, Imphal, 4 ICAR-DUs (IARI, IVRI, NDRI and CIFE), 4 Central Universities having agricultural faculty (BHU, AMU, ViswaBharati and Nagaland University) and 1 Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology & Sciences (SHIATS), Allahabad (formerly Allahabad Agricultural Institute) awarding various kinds of degrees in different disciplines of agricultural, veterinary and allied sciences. Agricultural education is also imparted in some traditional universities of the country. Agricultural education system is producing invaluable human resource and every year about 15,000 graduates, 11,000 Masters and 2,500 Ph.D.s are admitted. The Under Graduate degree in 11 subjects of agriculture and allied sciences and Master’s degree in about 93 subjects, awarded by the Universities associated with the ICAR are well recognized and accepted for higher education globally. Some of the graduates also start their own business units including the Agri. Clinics and Agro Service Centres. Following are some of the sectors providing placement to the agricultural graduates

Eligibility:

For B.SC Agriculture students who have passed 10 + 2 with physics, chemistry and Biology are eligible to apply for an undergraduate course in Agriculture. Certain colleges /entrance exams have a cut-off of 50% marks in Physics, chemistry and Biology in 10 + 2. Eligible Candidates should qualify entrance examinations held at state and national level for admission.

Course Structure:

The B.SC (Ag) degree in India typically a 4 year course under credit based semester system. The curriculum is very broad and inter-disciplinary consisting of courses in Agronomy, Horticulture, plant, pathology, Entomology, Agriculture Economics, Extension Education, Genetics and plant Breeding, Soil Science, Food technology, Animal Husbandry and nutrition.

It is advisable to choose an institution which is a member of theIndian AgriculturalUniversities Association(IAUA), established to promote agriculture research and education in india.

Employment Oppurtunities:

• Development Departments of Central and State Governments.
• Commercial Banks and Insurance Sector.
• Area development / watershed development agencies including NGOs.
• Industry dealing with fertilizers and plant nutrients.
• Plant protection chemicals, insecticides and pesticides manufacturing and marketing companies.
• Organizations dealing in seeds and planting materials.
• Manufacturers and suppliers of irrigation systems.
• Manufacturers and suppliers of irrigation systems.
• Agricultural products processing industry.
• Multi-nationals dealing with production, field evaluation, and marketing of agricultural inputs including export marketing and consultancy services.

The Entrance Exam:

The Indian Council of Agriculture Research ( ICAR),NEW-DELHI conducts the All India Entrance Examination for entry to 15% of the total number of seats in graduate courses  in state Agriculture Universities, and Central Agriculture University, Imphal and 100% seats in National Dairy Research Institute, karnal Admission is solely based on the entrance test; there are no interviews and group discussions. Through this entrance exam includes subjects like. Agriculture, Horticulture, Fisheries Science,  Forestry, Home Science, Sericulture, Veterinary Science, Agriculture Engineering and Dairy Technology.

Note: AIEEA-UG-2016  Exam Date is 09.04.2016.