The world today has evolved so much and many new occupations have come into existence leaving people in awe. But have you ever wondered what is the most ancient occupation that existed even millions of years ago? Hope you guessed it right, it is agriculture. As humans evolved from apes to Neanderthals to Homo Sapiens, agriculture also evolved. From consuming whatever felt edible to cultivating the best crops, the human race has progressed tremendously.
Evolved humans, having realized food is the foremost component for survival, began farming with standard techniques, handmade equipment, and so on. People all around the globe, decades ago, were farmers and agriculturalists with no formal education. But as new technological inventions peeped in, people took a diversion towards modernization thus leaving behind agriculture. People had no idea that someday the demand for agriculture would rise again. That era has already come. The drastically increasing population of the Earth has exponentially increased the demand for food sources. As the demand for food has elevated suddenly, the requirement for professional agriculturalists and farmers has skyrocketed.
The agriculture sector is one of the highly opportunistic sectors these days with enormous job positions. The advancement in the education sector has led to the development of agriculture courses in a professional format so that students can create successful careers in it. Top Universities in Bhopal like Mansarovar Global University(MGU) are offering exclusive agriculture courses for students.
Know About Agriculture and Agricultural Education
The skill of sowing and cultivating crops, the mastery of maintaining the cultivated plants, and the knack for harvesting those crops in favorable seasons using well-suitable techniques are known as agriculture. People who hold expertise in all three are often the best farmers and agriculturalists.
Earlier days had no specific classes or courses to teach agriculture as it was one of the daily practices among all families. But today, agriculture has turned out to be an occupation and unique courses have been designed to educate students about it. These agriculture courses are together segmented into agricultural education. Top Universities in MP, like Mansarovar Global University(MGU) and many more, provide agricultural education with courses at different levels.
Look into Agriculture Courses
As agricultural education continues to bloom, a wide range of agriculture and its related courses are offered by both government and private colleges like MGU, which is a top agriculture college in MP. Scroll down to get an overview of different agriculture courses that are offered to students in various colleges, universities, and institutions.
Certificate agriculture courses
At times, a sudden interest in certain fields might pop up among students. If a student feels a sudden surge of interest in agriculture, then there are a lot of certificate agriculture courses. These are not degree courses but short-duration optional courses that can be pursued by interested students. These courses are offered both online and offline. There are no particular eligibility criteria for these courses.
Some of the popular certificate courses in Agriculture are as follows:
- Certificate in Agriculture
- Certificate in Agriculture, Economics, and Nature by Coursera
- Agriculture for Administrators by MANAGE
- Certificate in Food Production
- Certificate in Food Beverage Services
Duration: Course duration is usually from 3 to 6 months.
Diploma in Agriculture
A diploma in Agriculture is a polytechnic course that is being offered at many agriculture colleges including Agriculture College in Madhya Pradesh. It is provided in two different levels as mentioned below:
- UG Diploma: Students who are feeling bored with school and wish to enjoy college life if interested in agriculture can pursue UG Diploma in Agriculture and its related fields. This course can be pursued after high school i.e, 10th grade. Students with a keen interest in farming and related occupations such as horticulture, animal husbandry, and much more can pursue this course. This course focuses on teaching agricultural concepts to students from the base stage thus installing a strong foundation for a career in agriculture.
- PG Diploma: PG Diploma in Agriculture can be pursued after any relevant undergraduate degree in agriculture. This course is similar to certification courses but falls under polytechnic degrees with longer duration. Multiple specializations in Agriculture are provided under PG Diploma.
Some of the PG Diploma courses are as follows
- PGD in Agricultural Extension Management
- PG Diploma in Management: Agribusiness and Plantation Management
- PGD in Technology Management in Agriculture
Eligibility criteria
- The minimum eligibility criteria for UG Diploma in Agriculture in any Diploma agriculture college is a class 10th pass from any recognized board.
- For a PG Diploma, the minimum eligibility criteria is an undergraduate degree in any relevant field.
Duration
UG Diploma- 2 years
PG Diploma- 2 years
Bachelor of Science in Agriculture
Done and dusted with school life, students holding a keen interest in agriculture can pursue B.Sc Agriculture. It is an undergraduate course that can be pursued after the 12th or Diploma and is being offered in many colleges like Mansarovar Global University(MGU), a BSc agriculture college in Bhopal. This course instigates the curiosity for practicing agricultural professions among students by educating agricultural concepts, techniques, and methods along with hands-on practice.
Eligibility criteria
- The minimum eligibility criteria for B.Sc in Agriculture is class 12th pass with 50% aggregate including physics, chemistry, and mathematics/biology/agriculture from any recognized board.
- Students can make lateral entries if they complete a Diploma in Agriculture.
Duration
3-4 years
Master of Science in Agriculture
Students after pursuing any agriculturally relevant undergraduate degree, if interested to take up agriculture as a profession can pursue M.Sc Agriculture in colleges like MGU, an MSc Agriculture college in MP. It is a postgraduate degree that students can pursue to learn and develop advanced agricultural knowledge along with cross-disciplinary subjects such as horticulture, apiculture, etc. This course incorporates course-specific criteria and ideas for students who would gain the ability to practice agriculture with confidence.
Eligibility criteria
- The minimum eligibility criteria for M.Sc in Agriculture in most MSc agriculture colleges in Bhopal is B.Tech/BE/B.sc in any relevant field with 50% aggregate.
Duration
2 years
How to set foot into the agriculture profession?
After going through the above agriculture courses, if the interest to emerge as a successful agriculturalist has strengthened, then it is time to know how to become one. Admission procedures for the agriculture courses in colleges like Mansarovar Global University(MGU), a BSc Agriculture college in Bhopal are as follows:
- For Diploma courses, the admission criteria are just a 10th pass and don’t require any entrance exams.
- The B.Sc course, admission is mostly on a merit basis that requires a 50% aggregate at PCM at 12th.
- For the M.Sc course, the admission is mostly on a merit basis that requires at least 50% aggregate in B.Sc.
Certain other colleges consider entrance exams like KEAM, CUET, AP EAMCET, etc for admission to B.Sc Agriculture whereas GBPUAT, UPCATET, etc for admission to M.Sc Agriculture.
Most popular career options for Agriculture graduates
Let’s break a myth. There is a myth that agriculture graduates end up only as farmers. But the reality is there are plenty of career options for agriculture graduates. As highlighted earlier, the agriculture course also covers interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary subjects thus creating a way for students to establish careers in a plethora of sectors in connection with agriculture. Get to know those popular career options that are awaiting agriculture graduates.
Agricultural engineer
As innovations are required in all fields, agriculture is not the odd one out. The increased demand for both food and cash crops creates a necessity for upgradation in agricultural techniques to increase yield. At the same time, new problems strike up in every field as do in agriculture. So to tackle problems, efficient solutions have to be engineered thus generating a unique job position called an agricultural engineer. They are responsible for analyzing the problems in agriculture and ideating solutions. In India, Agri-tech startups worth nearly $204 million have been established and hire agricultural engineers for high pay scales.
Average Indian pay scale
INR 5.5 lakhs to 8 lakhs per annum
Agricultural economist
As agriculture has developed into an occupation, it is responsible for the economical growth of a nation. Agriculture contributes 17.5% to Gross Domestic Product(GDP) in India with the largest workforce of 43%. In order to have control over the agricultural economy, agricultural graduates with expertise in analyzing economic data are hired as agricultural economists. These economists keep a constant check on the agricultural markets, their ups and downs, develop agricultural forecasts and examine agricultural statistics to maintain the economy.
Average Indian pay scale
INR 7 lakhs to 8.75 lakhs per annum
Food Microbiologist
Agricultural graduates study subjects that are related to after-agricultural processes such as food microbiology, etc. Food microbiology involves studying the food microorganisms that invade, contaminate, and demolish food products. The crops are turned into food products in food industries and require the support of agriculture graduates to research and develop solutions to prevent blemishing of food by microorganisms. So top-notch food companies such as Parle Agro, ITC Foods, etc hire food microbiologists.
Average Indian pay scale
INR 2.5 lakhs to 6 lakhs per annum
Agricultural geneticist
In the field of agriculture, certain crops have lost the capacity to survive on their own, some have degraded in nutritional content over years, few other crops are easily susceptible to attack by pests, and so on. These kinds of issues in crops can be rectified by operating at the genetics level of the crops. India is a boss in the global agricultural market. It is one of the largest producers of vegetables, fruits, and flowers in the world.
India is the largest producer of milk, second-largest of sugar & leading producer of coconut and spices. The spice market in India has valued at INR 40,000 crore (USD 5.87 billion) annually. So, India is responsible for maintaining the quality of agricultural products. With this notion, many agricultural geneticists’ job vacancies both in the government as well as private food industry have been raised. Thus, agricultural graduates can establish their careers as agricultural geneticists.
Average Indian pay scale
INR 6 lakhs to 10 lakhs per annum
Conclusion
Global as well as Indian Agricultural Market has widened and developed on a huge scale with enormous career opportunities for agriculture graduates. Students who pursue agriculture courses can reap the benefits multiple times. Students have to make sure that they pursue their courses in reputed institutions like Mansarovar Global University(MGU) with a good standard of education to build a strong future.
The Indian Agricultural Economy is upscaling and continues to upscale in the future thus making it clear that agriculture graduates will be much more in demand in the upcoming years. So, agriculture is back to form with much stronger reverence.
FAQs
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Are there PhD courses in Agriculture?
Yes, there are PhD courses in agriculture like PhD in Principles of Agronomy, PhD in Agribusiness, etc.
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Is horticulture part of the agriculture course syllabus?
Yes, horticulture is part of the agriculture course syllabus.
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Do agriculture graduates have career opportunities abroad?
Yes, agriculture graduates have career opportunities abroad as food microbiologists, food processing engineers, agricultural market specialists, etc.
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Can B.Sc Botany students pursue M.Sc in Agriculture?
Yes, B.Sc Botany students can pursue M.Sc in Agriculture as it is a relevant undergraduate degree.
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Do students experience field training in agriculture courses?
Yes, the practical exposure sessions are highly mandatory in agriculture courses as agriculture is all about practices for decades.
