Agriculture and Allied Fields
Agriculture has always been the mainstay of our economy. This sector employs more than two third of the labour force in the country and is a major contributor to the national economy. It meets our basic need for food and also the requirement, for most of the raw material needed by the manufacturing sector. Science and Technology have contributed significantly to agriculture in terms of improving productivity and quality. In order to gain a footing in the highly competitive global market and to make major gains in the export market, there is an increasing demand for professionally qualified people in this sector.
Agriculture is a vast and diversified field, offering numerous career options. Other than those directly engaged in farming and other such activities, the industry needs people in areas of research and development and agro industry. Then there are specialized areas, with good career prospects, like Horticulture, Floriculture, Dairy and Poultry Farming and Fishery.
Educational Qualification:
Although it is possible to have a career in this sector without any formal training but given the range and scope of career in the agriculture sector it is essential to obtain formal training to become successful particularly in the areas of research and agro-industry. There are large number of institutes offering (every State has a Agriculture University) graduate and post-graduate courses in agriculture and allied fields with choice of several specializations such as agriculture economics, agriculture chemistry, horticulture, and animal husbandry. Candidates need to have passed 10+2 with science and clear an entrance exam for the admission to the 4-year B.Sc course in agriculture. Subjects for entrance exam include Physics, Chemistry and Biology or Mathematics or Agriculture.
There are 29 agricultural universities spread in the different parts of the country. In addition the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar (Bareilly), the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal and the Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Bombay fall in the category of deemed universities.
The agricultural education system in the country offers degree programmes in 11 specific disciplines viz. agriculture, veterinary science, agricultural engineering, forestry, home science, dairy technology, fisheries, sericulture, marketing, banking and co-operation, horticulture and food science with a total intake of about 11,000 students. It also offers postgraduate programmes in more than 55 fields of specialization with a total intake capacity of about 5,000 students. ICAR offers about 1200 scholarships and fellowships from the undergraduate to post-doctoral levels. Special fellowships are also offered for socially and economically weaker groups.
