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Agriculture is a Choice, Not an Option!
24 Jul 2021
To educate the scholars about how Agricultural Sciences can be promising Faculty of Agricultural Sciences & Allied Industries releases their new blog.
Blog- Agriculture Is A "choice"…… Not An Option
About the Blog: This blog educated the scholars about the vast scope of agriculture in India and its related professional agricultural training such as farming, seed technology, soil science, crop breeding, forestry, and many other sectors. To know more, read the entire blog
BLOG
Many of us wonder why B. Sc. Agriculture? It's strange…… because being a primary source of livelihood for most Indians, it remains the last priority among students choosing a career option. Agriculture has a vast scope in India. The trained agricultural professionals are served in the areas such as farming, seed technology, soil science, crop breeding, forestry, and many other sectors. B. Sc. in Agriculture is a broad-based course with great potential. It deals with food production, crop improvement, horticulture, animal husbandry, rural economy, rural development, soil health, environmental health, etc. Other industries may face recession, but agriculture can never fall because "food" is the basic necessity for life, as it was also witnessed during the lockdown period of 2020.
B.Sc. Agriculture is a 4-yearundergraduate professional course offered by various government and private universities in India. The demand and scope for graduates with a degree in agriculture are increasing daily in India and abroad. Course fees are also considerably lower than other professional degrees while rewarding good jobs and a better package.
A student pursuing B. Sc. Agriculture will study a wide variety of subjects, including agronomy, soil sciences, horticulture (fruit science & vegetable), genetics and plant breeding, entomology, plant pathology, animal sciences, extension education, plant biochemistry, agricultural economics, biotechnology, etc. The syllabus is as per the guidelines of ICAR (Indian Council of Agriculture Research). It is designed to train students to understand ways of crop production and crop improvement in a sustainable manner.
The agriculture sector is becoming more modern, scientific, and technology-oriented. Evolving biotechnology strategies, high throughput technologies, and resource management strategies play a significant role in food production and management systems. Specialization in agriculture opens up a world of possibilities for students who have chosen to pursue education in this field.
Agriculture is defined as the art, science, and business of producing crops and livestock for economic purposes.
As an art, it embraces knowledge of how to perform farm operations skillfully but does not necessarily include understanding the principles underlying the farm practices.
As a science, it utilizes all technologies developed on scientific principles such as crop breeding, production techniques, crop protection, economics, etc., to maximize the yield and profit. For example, new crops and varieties developed by hybridization, Transgenic crop varieties resistant to pests and diseases, hybrids in each crop, high fertilizer responsive varieties, water management, herbicides to control weeds, use of bio-control agents to combat diseases and pests.
It aims at maximum net return by managing land labor, water, and capital, employing various sciences to produce food, feed, fiber, and fuel. In recent years, agriculture is commercialized to run as a business through mechanization.
The Agricultural Industry is an important sector in India that plays a significant role in the Economy of India. The industry is expected to grow in years to come with expansion in irrigation facilities, Food Storage, Cold Stores, Usage of Agriculture Machinery, and sustainable use of Agriculture Infrastructure. It means the job opportunity for Agriculture courses is vast.
The objective of the Agriculture degree program is to strengthen the Agriculture sector of India. The government Institutes and organizations take initiatives to promote education and research in this field. The need for technological advancement in the Agriculture sector is never-ending. Thus, the scope and career options for Agriculture candidates are many.
Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for around 58 percent of India's population. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has announced the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan' or Self-reliant India Mission on May 12 with an economic stimulus package worth Rs 20 lakh crores towards achieving the mission. The Mission focuses on promoting local products, and it is expected to focus on land, labor, liquidity, and laws. The task is also expected to complement the Make in India Initiative, which intends to encourage manufacturing in India and the agriculture sector to have great potential.
A career in agriculture is limited to farming. With the technological revolution, there are many new areas where anyone can make a career. Long before career counseling showed up on the evolutionary timescale of job profiles, career choices in India were the symbol of social reputation. Like the early 1990s, career preferences were driven towards the medical sciences; from the late 1990s onward, engineering remained the preferred choice until about the early 2000s, since almost everyone wants to do an MBA. From the late-2000s onwards, many started pursuing their entrepreneurial dreams. We have witnessed emerging job diversity that has facilitated the need for more career counselors.
The job of career counselors is to help candidates choose a careful examination of the monetary, social, and personal rewards about each alternative in question. With or without the aid of career counselors, many have found suitable applications for MBA degrees. Both management and governance are crucial in business, politics, education, healthcare, or any environment where problem-solving is an essential feature. Therefore, it is natural to speculate the possibility that someone (with administration skills) driven by social motives may want to solve the hunger problem of a billion people. When considering career choices, young people in India generally shy away from agriculture, which is sad considering that we are primarily agricultural. For the youth today, agriculture is not an excellent option. But it is not valid. Agriculture matters to the future of development. Economists point out that agriculture is four times more effective than other sectors in reducing poverty. It can even be a gold mine for young entrepreneurs. Besides, agricultural research needs the young mind to initiate innovation. A tiny percentage of our students opt for an agricultural major only because they don't realize its potential. We need to point out the primary advantage that agriculture has over other sectors; other industries might undergo recession, but feeding the world is a job that will never face recession.