Agriculture Science : Eligibility, Job Prospects, Best Institutes in 2023

Naief Khatri
Updated Date: July 28, 2023

Despite rapid strides in modernization and India’s march towards globalization, agriculture has always been the backbone of our economy. It still employs more than two third of the labour force in the country and is a major contributor to our national economy.

It meets our basic need for food and also the requirement, for 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 foothold 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. Hence nowadays many educational institutes and universities have started courses to groom professionals in this important subject area.

New advances in Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering have also thrown up many opportunities in this field and the best part is with government support along came tax benefits, subsidies and discounts.

The field of agriculture includes farm management, businesses and industries that manufacture agricultural machinery, industries that buy and process the farm products, banking activities for financing and developing farms, research for improving quantity and quality of farm products, so on and so forth..

Agriculture Science Eligibility Criteria

There are many graduate and post graduate programs available in various universities all across India.

While popular universities for this subject like- Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU) rely on EAMCET- state level test conducted by Government of Andhra Pradesh., many universities ask for not less than 50% marks in Biology, Physics and Chemistry at intermediate level.

Post graduate courses in agricultural science which require intensive and specialized training in one particular domain, invite applications from candidates with related B.Sc degree in the given subject.

Similarly, aspirants wishing to take up PhD should ideally be having a regular master’s degree in the relevant subject(s).

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Agriculture Science Job Prospects

Agriculture is a vast and diversified field, offering numerous career options. Other than those directly engaged in farming and other allied 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, Fishery and so forth.

Agriculture Science Pay Package

The monthly remuneration of a fresh graduate in agricultural sciences appointed by respective state or central government starts from Rs.7000 and goes up to Rs.17, 000 depending upon experience and total years of service. District agricultural inspector/officer gets monthly salary more than Rs.12, 000. The salary of agricultural scientists varies between Rs.18, 000 and 25, 000.

The salary of agricultural science professionals in private sector is more as compared to public sector. They get handsome salary apart from other benefits as fixed by the respective firm/company.

Read:Career in Agriculture Technology