B.Sc. (Agriculture)

India is still predominantly an agrarian economy with nearly 60% of the workforce engaged in agriculture and its allied categories. Despite the involvement of more than 50% of the working population in farming and cultivation, the primary sector has not witnessed significant growth in the last few decades. It is quite unfortunate to note that agriculture’s share in the GDP is below 25%. No wonder then that majority of today’s youth aspire for a job as a software or hardware engineer, doctor, bank manager or a teacher.

Nevertheless, if you wish to carve out a career as an agriculture officer or plantation manager, you’ll be able to exploit umpteen opportunities as there is a huge demand for agricultural professionals. You’ll be able to apply to innumerable lucrative positions both in the public and private sectors after completing an approved 4-year B.Sc. undergraduate program from a recognized institute. In order to be eligible for B.Sc. Agri program, you’ll have to clear your 10+2 exams in the science stream as well as the entrance exam of the institute you’re seeking admission to.

B.Sc Agriculture Colleges in India

• Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab
• Shivaji University, Kolhapur, Maharashtra
• Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
• Bharati Vidyapeeth University, Pune
• Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
• Sardar Vallabhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut, UP
• Mewar University, Chittorgarh, Rajasthan
• Anand Agricultural University, Anand, Gujarat
• Govind Vallabh Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand
• Benares Hindu University, Benares, UP

B.Sc. Agri Qualifications

All students who’ve passed their intermediate or higher secondary with physics, chemistry, biology and/or mathematics attaining a minimum of 40% marks in aggregate can apply for B.Sc. (Agriculture) program.

Our Advice

Dr. DS Kothari, who was the UGC chairman in the 1960s, had recommended that an agricultural university should be established in each and every Indian state. The implementation of his proposal led to the establishment of a total of 49 universities throughout the length and breadth of the country. Since then, the demand for agricultural and agronomic professionals has increased consistently over the years.

Additionally, the marriage of the state-of-the-art technologies to agriculture has made the latter more varied, leading to the creation of more jobs and new job positions. Also, with every successive central government allocating a greater share of the national budget to agriculture, the sector’s significance is growing day by day. Therefore, it does not need to be emphasized that all students after earning their B.Sc. (agriculture) degree will be in a position to send applications for numerous entry-level jobs in the agricultural sector and its allied segments.

A career as an agronomist, agricultural research officer, agricultural loan officer or farm manager will not only be fulfilling but lucrative as well. Your career prospects will get a shot in the arm and receive a further boost after you complete a postgraduate program (M.Sc. in Agriculture).

B.Sc. Agri Career Scope

Once you have the B.Sc. Agriculture certificate in your hand, the floodgates of jobs will open up for you. You’ll be simply spoilt for choice when it comes to picking and choosing a suitable job, as you’ll qualify for applying to multiple positions in public as well as private sector. You could be successful in landing a job in an agro-based firm, agricultural marketing company, microfinance institution, and fertilizer corporation or biotech organization in either of the sectors.

You could see yourself working as a seed technologist, rice breeder, agriculture research scientist or assistant plantation manager and numerous other positions. You could send your CV to Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Food Corporation of India, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, and several other government organizations. On the other hand, some of the prestigious private corporations where you can commence a scintillating career include Du Pont India, Cargill India, ITC, Rallis India, Monsanto, and many others.

A Knowledge-Based Curriculum

The B.Sc. Agriculture program offered by the majority of universities is spread over 4 years while a few academias have a 5-year course. The first 3 years (and 4 years in some universities) is devoted to learning the basic and advanced concepts of a range of subjects including soil science, agronomy, plant genetics, plant pathology, agricultural engineering, and agriculture economics to name a few. The final year will be spent in putting theory to practice what you’ve imbibed in the classrooms through hands-on and field training.

The idea behind training you adequately is to expedite your chances of finding a job by making you employment ready.

Syllabi of B.Sc. (Agriculture)

The curriculum of B.Sc. (Agriculture) is not only immense but also diverse, thereby giving you the opportunity to specialize in a domain of your choice. You’ll be studying different subjects related to agriculture and farming during your first 3 or 4 years including but not limited to horticulture, plant genetics, agriculture engineering, agricultural economics, agriculture meteorology, soil science, and entomology. Most of these subjects will be compulsory while a few will comprise electives.

You’ll be taken on field trips and study tours in the final year of the undergraduate program.

Choosing an Institute

A B.Sc. (Agriculture) could take you places and enable you to reach the pinnacle in your career. And in order to ensure that, you must choose the program of an institute recognized and approved by the ‘Indian Council of Agricultural Research’. Almost all universities and institutions offering this undergraduate course also happen to be members of the ‘Indian Agricultural Universities Union’.

Finding a job will be remarkably easy when you’ve a B.Sc. (Agriculture) degree from an institute accredited to ICAR and at the same time, is an associate member of IAUU.

B.Sc. Agriculture Eligibility

As mentioned earlier, you should have successfully completed your 10+2 exam in the pure science (PCM) or bio science stream (PCB). You can also apply if you have or had computer applications as a subject in place of mathematics besides physics, chemistry, and biology. You may have to appear for an entrance exam as well conducted by the specific institute you’re seeking admission to.

However, there are many universities that also admit students directly based on the marks obtained in their higher secondary exam. Universities offering admission publish entrance exam, course, available seats, and other relevant details on their websites while the central and state government universities advertise in newspapers as well.

Universities for B.Sc. (Agriculture)

• Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad, AP
• Sardar Krushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University, Banaskantha, Gujarat
• Allahabad Agricultural Institute, Allahabad, UP
• Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi
• Central Agricultural University, Imphal, Manipur
• Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, UP
• Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, Srinagar Town, Uttarakhand
• Sikkim University, Gangtok
• Calcutta (Kolkata) University, Kolkata
• Bundelkhand University, Jhansi, UP
• Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur, UP
• Deen Dayal University, Gorakhpur, UP
• Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut, UP
• Amity University, NOIDA, UP
• Quantum University, Dehradun, Uttaranchal

BSc Agriculture Entrance Exam

Most of the universities offer admission to their respective B.Sc. (Agriculture) program subject to clearance of an entrance exam. However, there are some institutes that take in students through the direct admission route. ICAR, the apex regulatory body that offers approval to the undergraduate program, also monitors the ‘All India Entrance Examination’. 15% of all the seats in the Central Agricultural University in Imphal and the SAUs (state agricultural universities), and National Dairy Research Institute are reserved for candidates clearing the aforementioned entrance test.

B.Sc Agriculture Syllabus

Topic/Subject	Description
Agricultural Economics	Agricultural Finance, Basics of Agribusiness Management, Principles of Agricultural Economics
Basic Science & Humanities	Rural Sociology& Indian Constitution, Fundamentals of Science and Humanities, Communication & Comprehension Skills in English
Agricultural Entomology	Pests of Horticultural Crops & Their Management, Field Crops Pests and Their Management, Fundamentals of Entomology
Agricultural Engineering	Agro Processing, Energy Resources & Their Applications, Principles of Soil & Water Engineering
Agronomy	Crop Production, Cropping Practices & Principles, Principles and Practices of Farming System, Fundamentals of Agricultural Meteorology, Principles of Agronomy & Agricultural Heritage
Agricultural Extension	Dimensions of Agricultural Extension, Transfer of Agricultural Technology & Extension Methodologies

 

B.Sc Agriculture Job Opportunities

Some of the government organizations and public sector firms where you’ll find a job:-

• Indian Council of Agricultural Research
• North Eastern Region Agricultural Marketing Corporation
• Council of Scientific & Industrial Research
• Agricultural Finance Corporations
• NABARD and other agro-based banks
• NDDB (National Dairy Development Bank)
• FCI
• State Farms Corporation of India
• National Seeds Corporation Ltd
• Indian Agricultural Research Institute

Some private sector companies where you can apply:-

• Monsanto
• Cargill India Ltd
• Rallis India Ltd
• Tata Chemicals
• ITC
• Du Pont India

Some of the key job positions open to B.Sc. (Agriculture) graduates:-

• Assistant Plantation Manager
• Seed Technologist
• Rice Breeder
• Junior Associate (Research)
• Junior Agriculture Specialist
• Agriculture Officer
• Agriculture Technician
• Agriculture Development Officer

Should I Specialize?

Specialization is not possible at the undergraduate level. However, you can specialize in a specific field or branch of agriculture at the postgraduate level. For that, you’ll again have to sit for an entrance test. After clearing the exam, you can pursue a M.Sc. or Ph. D program. You’ll receive a promotion from your existing job position after you obtain a postgraduate degree with a concomitant pay hike and increased perks.

Making a Difference

Since the agrarian sector is still replete with untrained and semi-skilled professionals, you have tremendous scope to contribute to this primary sector and look forward to becoming a very successful professional. If you can take optimum advantage of your acquired skills which you imbibe after completing the B.Sc. (Agriculture) program, you can look forward to becoming the top shot in a company.