If you have ever wondered why agricultural education is a necessity, especially in India, this blog will answer the question. India is a largely agrarian country, as is common knowledge. More than 80% of the population of the country relies on agriculture as a source of livelihood. At the time of Independence, India did face food grain shortages, although, in recent years, India has achieved remarkable agricultural growth, making it self sufficient in the field of agriculture, even though the population of the country is increasing.
This growth in agriculture is a huge achievement for India that is recognized in the world over. India has achieved growth in agriculture, milk production, fish, seeds and in fruits and vegetables to green, white, yellow and blue revolutions. All of these revolutions have collectively brought growth to farmers and have also helped in the establishment of institutes that focus on agricultural education.
All of these factors make the need for agricultural education even more important. AISECT University in Jharkhand is one of the universities that offer agricultural education in their courses. One factor that makes AISECT University stand out from the rest of the agriculture colleges in Ranchi is that the course curriculum is regularly updated according to industry standards and technological changes. Agricultural education is even more important these days because India has to maintain the self-sufficiency that it has attained after all of the hardships. There is an urgent need for human resources in the field of agriculture, which is precisely what the university is hoping to achieve.
Some of the challenges faced by the field include the following
- Decreasing profits in farming
- Competitiveness regarding the quality of crop due to globalisation
- Poor linkages between farms and markets
- Low knowledge of input agriculture
- Lack of qualified students
Manpower is necessary to meet these new and old challenges. In order to properly address all of these challenges, competent human resources would be needed in large numbers in the near future. To ensure this happens, there needs to be more of an emphasis on agricultural education than ever before. There is a gap between the demand and supply of manpower when it comes to research and development in agriculture. Agricultural education hopes to fill that gap.
Career Scope
Any student who is wishing to pursue an education in agriculture would be curious about the kind of career opportunities available to them.
Options start from higher education like M.Sc, MBA, M.Phil and Ph.D For higher education, colleges and universities conduct entrance exams which the students will have to appear for.
Students can also go for banking sector jobs by appearing for IBPS exams. Students interested in civil services can appear for UPSC examinations too. The food processing industry is another great option for students of agriculture.
