Future of Indian Agricultural Education: Must-Have Skills and Creative Capacities for Farm Graduates

Future of Indian Agricultural Education:
Must-Have Skills and Creative Capacities for
Farm Graduates
C.Ramasamy
Agricultural Economist
&
Former Vice-Chancellor , TNAU
Webinar Organized by
Junagadh Agricultural University
June 28, 2020

Purpose of Webinar
 The issue : i. Supply of graduates exceeds Demand
 ii. Followed by whether we have Industry/Society
ready graduates
My presentation gives you
 Perspectives & Broad framework but not ready-made
fully adoptable guidance/advice on must-have
knowledge, skills and capacity
 Not a retail shop activity & not to be given in a
platter
 Sharing my exposure (gained globally & locally) and
thinking and further based on what I did at TNAU
 Making ‘How to fish rather than giving a fish? ‘ approach
 It is a kind zigzag road map wherein you pick up threads
and pursue

Growth &Transformation Ag Edu. Institutions in India
via Three Stages
How fat we are today ?
Stage I : Though ag education started in 19 th century , 20 th century
witnessed phenomenal progress ; Began as Licentiate
diploma program, B.Sc Ag born as a 3 year degree program
and became 4 year one
Stage II. Early 1960s saw the birth of SAUs ; today we have about 75 ag /
universities (both Central& State) SAUs included 7 Faculties viz.
Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Forestry,
Home Science and Agricultural Engineering ; AND
& Already existing Ag Faculty in Grand Old Universities (BHU,
Annamlai Uni., Allahabad Uni. etc.etc
Stage III. Bifurcation/ Trifurcation of SAUs,; new Private Universities
having faculty of Agriculture ; SAU affiliated Private
Colleges
• Hundreds of institutions running diploma courses over decades
• Maharashtra has largest number of private Ag .colleges

Ag Graduates Being Churned out in India
2011 2019-20( Projected –NAAS Pub.)
Under graduates : 15000 62150
Masters degree holders : 11,000 14960
PH.Ds : 2,500 9792
No of Diploma holders projected : 31280
• According to ICAR, 1.65 lakh students pursuing UG, Masters and
Ph.D in Ag Universities
• Maharashtra churns about 50,000 graduates , diploma holders and
certificate qualified manpower annually (personal source )
• Increasing number of qualified manpower will put more pressure
on available jobs/opportunities
• We do not have organized statistics on the ag graduate supply
and employment scenario
• Some studies on qualified ag manpower requirement of India
carried out (Refer Prof.MSS & NAARM)

Ag Education in China- A Neighbor Who is Comparable
• Multi-levels (Ph.D, Master, Bachelor, Junior College and
Vocational School products)
• About 63 % of Institutions (Universities & Junior Colleges)
affiliated to Chinese (Central) Ministries & 37 % to Local
Governments
• Universities vs Junior Colleges offer UG programs in the
ratio of 68: 32
• Masters program 96% in universities and 4 % in Junior
Colleges
• Universities enroll 92.5 of Ph.Ds &8 % Research Institutes

Ag Graduates Employment In China
In 2011:
• Enrolment: Ph.Ds enrolled 20000 ; M.Sc 70,000, Bachelors & Junior
College 5,80,000
• Ph.Ds :54 % employed in educational institutions ; going abroad (0.5%),
research institutes (17 %), and the rest in ag extension institutions,
public services, pursuing higher education at home, education
institutions,, enterprises and others
• Masters: 9% employed in public sector, 31 % enterprises, 16 % education
institutes, going abroad 1.4 % and, 15 % pursuing higher studies
and the rest in research institutes, party & government
organisations, agricultural extn. Centres, public service and others
• B.Sc degree: 40% Enterprises, 26 % pursuing higher studies, 17% research
institutes and going abroad 2.1 % the rest in party & government
organizations, public service, ag extn centres and others
• Junior College graduates : 72 % in enterprises, 11.4 % ag extn centres, 8.6
% research institutes, and the rest as above

Metamorphosis of & Endogenous Transformation in Our
Ag. Curriculum
• 1960s, B.Sc Ag curriculum -More of a science course
• Currently, ag curriculum incorporates science, technology and business
courses
• Ag. - a big industry and most of the careers are related to science /tech
and business management degrees
• Related areas : animal husb., forestry, fishery, ag engi. , food science &
technology -multidisciplinary and inter-related to (one can pursue any
of the above activities); beyond this, new degrees also added
 Ag. Education expected to equip you for employment in :
Education, R&D and Extn. organizations ; Public and Private agencies ;
Government and Policy making Agencies ; Private Consulting Companies ; Any
other sector and job (Civil service, Banking, Insurance, Finance, etc.)
 To become a farmer/ entrepreneur/self-employment (family business) &
some voluntary unemployment (house wives)
 Current Curriculum adequate ? to meet the demands of the above
(difficult to answer –varying opinions)
 The definite way out : Keep changing/Updating the curriculum/degree
programs to suit the trends in the industry & society

Expected trajectory (Future)of Indian Farming : Differing
Scenarios
• More complex & more opportunities (in terms of geography and
climate, resource endowments, crop and allied enterprises and production
systems and market demand )
• Ag in concurrent list (Different policies & Approaches )- Enough room for
the States to innovate and develop agriculture )
• Land – Bold policies to consolidate land Land leasing Act 2016
• Water resources – Modernize the irrigation systems –Central
should generously fund States’ proposals
• Rain fed agriculture/Dry farming – Policy to consolidate land and
SAUs may have pilot projects of 100-200 acres (Combo of
technologies)
• Allied sectors –Highly complementary- Encourage
• Below bar supply chain (standards for farm products/Ag marketing)
• Mismanaged agri credit system (economics to lead over
politcs) to be corrected

Future .. Contd..
• Well informed farmers expected to use best of modern tech.
• Anti-science folks (eg. blocking GM crops ) expected to slow down
growth in farm income and employment ; & to go for more
and more scientific farming
• Automation and technology will dominate. (There aren't enough
workers to feed a growing populationLabor is a constant need-
across different crops and geographies)
• Lessening dependence of weather god will happen through
improving irrigation facilities; but now not happening at a
desirable pace.
• Protecting the flooding of rivers by interconnecting rivers to
channelize excess water will take another half a century &
further Big investment on research and innovation along side
creating highly productive scientists force not yet
understood in this country

Future contd…
• Like any other sectors, agriculture should also be treated as
industry involving Private & Govt Sector and then it can
be benefited by following factors:
• Focus on innovative man power which is capable of
implementing path-breaking technologies and Skilled
man power to adapt to the changes not visible in the
short term
• Improving the Logistics :
Present storage capacity and effectiveness of storage in
India is very poor. This needs tremendous improvement.
• The entire supply chain from 'farm to consumer' needs
reforms (Due to middlemen, most of the profit does not reach
farmer who is the producer of the commodity and invests his sweat
& blood in the field.)

Future contd…
• Diversification of farm enterprises to continue at
reasonable pace (as per capita income rises)
• Yield increments to be little in food grains (including rice
& wheat ); will be less in other crops given ambiguity
in adoption of GM crops technology
• Do not see any perceptible jump in efficiency of land and
water use ; NAEREs stagnant ; some thing must be
done;
lot of reforms to be done in its governance
• Eg. Nano technology applications to come from
multinationals (a decade at least) as in GM tech
• Ag mechanization only partial ; lot of scope to mechanise
• All the above can be circumvented by
emergence/creation / invention of break through
technologies. Hope for the best.

Top Market Trends in Agriculture – Lot of Optimism
• The agriculture sector is becoming more modern,
scientific and technology-oriented.
• Shifting farm structures, changing demographics in the
food production system, evolving biotechnology
strategies, resource management strategies, are
playing a major role in the 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.

What to do? Diversify Degree Programs/Courses (for better
employment and entrepreneurial opportunities)
• Introduce new courses such as:
Eg. B.Tech in Horti, AIT, Bioinformatics, B.Sc (ABM), etc.
• A number of diploma & certificate courses (six months to one year)to add
value to Basic degrees to specialize in areas such as (knowledge &
skills needed in ) :
 Some of them are: landscaping, urban gardening, nursery techniques,
tissue culture , seed production, bio pesticides and bio fertilizers,
enriched organic manure;
 Trading in farm products, and post harvest operations quality
assurance, organizing ultra modern supply chains, bakery
products, and many more such as Hi-tech agriculture & more.
• Certify both public and private sector institutions and companies to offer
these programs which are industry ready and employment oriented
• ICAR can give broad framework only for designing curriculum to prepare
graduates employment oriented (though 30 percent flexible in
curriculum, SAUs not forthcoming to introduce new programs).

Diploma/Certificate courses to gain K,S &C
• GIS, Precision Farming
• Conservation Agriculture, Secondary Agriculture
• Hi-tech Cultivation, Specialty Agriculture
• Renewable Energy, Artificial Intelligence,
• Mechatronics, Plastics in Agriculture
• Dry land Horticulture, Nanotechnology, Agro-meteorology &
Climate Change, Waste Disposal & Pollution Abatement
• Food Plant Regulations and Licensing
• Food Quality, Safety Standards and Certification
• Food Storage Engineering
• Food Plant Sanitation and Environmental Control
• Emerging Food Processing Technologies

Edu value addition
• Agribusiness Management
• Agrochemicals
• Commercial Plant Breeding
• Landscaping
• Bio pesticides & Bio fertilizers
• Protected Cultivation
• Micro propagation Technologies
• Weed Management
• System Simulation and Agro-advisory Services
• Agricultural Journalism

Perspectives – Skills and Capabilities
Ag Degree programs expected to prepare you for:
 Agri-preneurship : business ( manufacturing & trading) &
farming- self employment)
 Teaching , Research and Extension
 Work in agricultural fields (public & private)
• What needed are :
 general knowledge – current affairs
 domain knowledge
 managerial & entrepreneurial capabilities
 real life skills
 trends in specific fields
 Outlook for say specific commodity / service

Skills contd..
• Ability to plan and execute projects ( commercial/
research/extension)
• Influencing leadership
• Ability to manage projects (software use)
• Good communication skills (oral, written, interactive)
• Patience for results/outcomes
• Critical thinking ; Creativity & imagination
• Information literacy; Media literacy; Technology literacy.
• Collaboration and teamwork & Flexibility
• Civic literacy and citizenship
• Social responsibility and ethics
• Kindly understand, these skills may look ordinary &
repetitive but they are universal & withstood test of time

Right Kind of Aptitude/Attitude Needed
These are very critical elements in your success
• Self-confidence
• Develop interest the ag.related economic activities
• Domain knowledge (theory &practical)
• Ability to make accurate and detailed observations
• Ability to analyze and find solutions to problems
(through analysis of information and experience)
• An understanding of business principles (accounting skills
etc.) Initiative/innovative skills
• Keen to acquire organizational skills

II
K S & C Needed for Specific Jobs
A Brief Survey Results

Case 1: Procurement Executive
• Company : Janardan Farms and Resorts , Lucknow
• Education : Bachelor's Degree in Agriculture
• Nature of job:
 Procurement of fresh vegetables and fruits for our direct
to home vegetable supply
 Skills relating to quality assessment, pricing of farm
products, negotiating capasity &efficiency in use of
logistics
• Job Type: Full-time
• Salary: Rs. 20,000 pm
• Experience: work- 1 year (Preferred)
• Work remotely

Case 2:Organizing Farmers for Spice Cultivation
BSc Ag. ; Job Description:
Organizing Farmers for Spice cultivation under backward integration program r
and procuring pesticide residue controlled raw material
Should be able to predict the crop yield , weekly weather dorecast; conduct
demo plots and reach the target quantity as per the budget plan
Build the Network and work on increasing backward integration program to
other Areas
Training / Field Visits and advising farmers for proper cultivation aspects to get
more yields and updating same in online software
Maintaining documents like Farmer Pass Book, Sustainable Documents, and
Weekly Reports.
Informing Procurement and Market Team weekly about field crop status.
Supply Chain Management Cost analysis

Case 3: Sales Executive
• Education : Ag Bachelor's Degree; Skills; Sales Experience
• Job summary:
• Young Dynamic B.Sc-Agriculture/Diploma Agri, Horticulture, Computer
Literate with 0 to 4 years exp in Field Sales in Agriculture/ Agri
Inputs/Seeds/Agri Machineries/Acqua Culture/Irrigation industries
• Only connected to farmers are encouraged to apply. Other industries
exposure please do not apply.
Responsibilities and Duties
•
Good knowledge on modern input use in farming to guide farmers , good
communication & co-ordination skills, own two wheeler vehicle is a
must.
•
Languages Known: Local Language, English, Hindi
•
Salary as per company standards and sales incentives based on performance
on achieving monthly sales and collection targets

Case 4:Research Analyst - Commodities Trade
Research
• Indian Agribusiness Systems Limited - New Delhi, Delhi
• We require Research Analysts (junior to senior) to track commodity
markets for various agricultural commodities like Grains, Oilseeds,
Pulses, Cotton, etc.
• Qualification /Education: Bachelor's Degree with previous experience in the
field /Master's Degree/ Doctoral Degree (Ag Economic, Agri-Business/Ag
statistics; Also MSc, PhD in Agriculture/ Horticulture
• Experience: Fresher to 8 years experience in commodity
economics/agribusiness; national & international trends; familiar
with statistical/Econometric software package, writing skills for
business publications
• Candidate should have good knowledge of crop agronomy, supply &
demand concepts, crop estimation and ability to speak to traders,
exporters, importers to understand the fundamental factors that are
influencing the prices of the commodities

Case 4: Continued
• Candidate will be required to produce various reports and analysis as
his work output. Senior analysts should be able to manage
teams, projects and interface with clients
•
To apply for these positions, please email us at
services@agriwatch.com, mentioning the position you are
applying for in the Subject. Please also attach your latest CV with
your application.
• Remuneration will be commensurate with experience and hike based
on performance
Location: Based in New Delhi with possible travel assignments
Preference: Candidates who are fluent in 1 or more of the following
languages: Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati and Tamil.

Case 5: CIMMYT : Program Assistant
Required academic, skills and qualifications:
Essential: BSc Agriculture, Computer literate (Word, excel, PPT, Internet usage).
Desirable: MSc Agriculture
Essential: At least one-year experience in document/ report preparation
excellent skills/experience on computer applications/IT/
project management tools
Demonstrated skills on communications and knowledge
management
Desirable: Project administration and financial management
The position is for an initial fixed-term contract of 1 year, after which further
employment is subject to performance and the continued availability of funds.
CIMMYT offers an attractive remuneration package, with a range of benefits
including health insurance
Email cover letter and CV as a single document with last drawn salary, salary
expectations and notice period no later than ………….. to Human Resources,
CIMMYT

Case 5: CYMMIT contd..
 Specific duties:

i. Assist in Monitoring & Evaluation
ii. Keeps track of activities as per objectives
iii. Compiles reports and assist in timely submission
iv. Provide logistic/secretarial assistance to project leader for various
administrative work related to project including oversight for project
procurement and management of assets, inventory and other resources
vi. Developing communication material and resource update
vii. Any other admin work as given by supervisor.
Please note that only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
CIMMYT is an equal-opportunity employer and strives for staff diversity in gender and
nationality.

Case 6: CIMMYT - Delhi- Program Assistant
• Education : Bachelor's Degree / Master's Degree/Agriculture
Skills : Project Management , Computer Literacy , Microsoft
PowerPoint ; We are seeking a dynamic, and self-motivated
professional with excellent organizational and people skills for
the position of Program Assistant.
The position will be based in Delhi or Ludhiana or Jabalpur, India.
Specific duties:
Assist in Monitoring & Evaluation ; Keeps track of activities as
per objectives ; Compiles reports and assist in timely
submission ; good in public relations
Provide logistic/secretarial assistance to project leader for various
administrative work related to project including oversight for
project procurement and management of assets, inventory
and other resources ;
Communications and knowledge management by reporting program
events, developing communication material and resource update

Case 7:Executive Officer - Food Processing Plant
Executive Officer - Food Processing Plant
• Gi TAGGED - HSR Layout, Bengaluru, Karnataka
Full-time | Other
Education : Bachelor's (Preferred)in Food technology or related degree
Skills :
Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel ,Microsoft Word
Quality Control & Quality assurance (Knowledge in ISO 9001:2015, ISO
22000, FSMS)
Candidates should have knowledge about all the agriculture products.
Food Processing Activities
Daily activity reports concerned to the Processing Plant
Job Types: Full-time
Salary: Rs25,000.00 /month
Experience: work: 2 years (Preferred)

Case 8: Sales Executive-Ramnagar/Mandya(Bsc Agri/Diploma Agri)
Deejay Coconut Farm Private Limited - Bengaluru, Karnataka
Looking for:
Young Dynamic B.Sc-Agriculture/Diploma Agri, Horticulture, Comp
Literate with 0-4 years exp in Field Sales in Agri Inputs /Irrigation
industries
Responsibilities and Duties
Good Communication & Co-ordination Skills, own two wheeler
vehicle is a must.
Languages Known: Local Language ( Kannada) English, Hindi
Salary as per company standards and sales incentives based on
performance
Qualifications and Skills
Sales and Marketing of Hybrid Coconut Seedlings to farmers and
guiding farmers in establishment of seed lings
Achieving monthly sales and collection targets. Meeting minimum 100
appointments of farmers pm

Case 9: Tech Assistant –Seed Farming
• Pan Seeds Pvt Ltd - Barddhaman, West Bengal
Job Responsibilities:
• Field Work ; Breeding related activities; Paddy seed farming
• Data collection and reporting on seed demand
• Required Skills/Education: BSc./Diploma in Agriculture, fresher
• Should have a basic knowledge about agriculture (Paddy) or
should be from farming background
• Hardworking, mentality ready to work in field
• Should have basic computer knowledge (MS Office)
• Candidates should be willing to relocate anywhere in India
• Job Types: Full-time, Fresher
• Salary: 180,000.00 /year
• Experience: work: 1 year (Preferred)

Case 10: Horticulture - Intern
• 8 Views - Hyderabad, Telangana
• Education: Bachelor’s /Master's Degree in Agriculture/Horticulture
• 8Views is a fast-paced end-to-end digital marketing company providing solutions
across digital platforms.
• Our solutions include search engine optimization, social media marketing, email
marketing, ad campaigns, content marketing, analytics, and more
• Apart from this, we recently started an online store to bring the joys of gardening
to everyone. We sell indoor plants online, across India
Job Description:
• Design, install and maintains annual and perennial indoor plants;
Supervise and directs grounds personnel by establishing
schedules, assigning tasks, monitoring, and reviewing projects to
ensure deadlines and quality standards are met.

• Qualifications: Graduate or Post Graduate in Horticulture, BSc. or M.Sc. in
Agriculture
• Confer with others in the industry about new plants and ideas
• Research on indoor plants for identification and solution for pests,
viruses, and diseases in Plants
• Manage gardening staff, give instructions and get work done
• Create product categories online
• Highly motivated individuals to augment our aggressive growth plan
• Good knowledge and experience in organic farming
• Females willing to start/restart their career may also apply ;
Freshers can also apply
• Duration of Internship: 2 Months. If your performance is excellent
we may offer you the full time employment opportunity
• Job Type: Internship; Salary: Rs.6,000.00 /month
Case 11:Horticulture - Intern

Case 12:Technical Officer (Fumigation)
Fumigation Services - Mumbai, Maharashtra
Designation : Technical Officer (fumigation)
Qualification : BSc / MSc graduates in
chemistry/Agriculture
Applicant should have completed fumigation training at
CFTRI Mysore.
Experience : Preferred but not Desirable.
Location :
Amritsar, Mumbai, Kandla, Mangalore,
Calcutta, Cochin, Guntur, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bhopal,
Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mundra.

Case 13: Organic Auditor
• Biocert International Pvt ltd - Bengaluru, Karnataka
• BSc / MSc Agriculture
• Knowledge in organic farming and organic farm
auditing
• Knowledge on organic certification
• Office work (administration/accounting/ computer
skills)
• Job Type: Full-time
• Salary: ₹200,000.00 to ₹300,000.00 /year
• Experience:
1 year (Preferred)

Case 14: Sourcing Executive
• MeraKisan - Pune, Maharashtra
• Qualification : BSc Ag
• Computer skills : Microsoft Word; Microsoft Excel
• Location : Pune, Indore
Job profile includes:
• Experience in FMCG
• Written and Verbal communication skills
• Presentable personality
• Ready to travel • Ready to work with flexible timings
• Passionate to work with Start-up
• Interpersonal skills
• Experience : 1-2 years

Case 15: Synlait’s 21st Century Milk Nutrition Company
Farms Operations Manager
•
Company with shifting perceptions of sustainable dairy, people
and planet. We are driving value through new thinking
and a new attitude
• We now have an excellent opportunity for a “hands-on” Farms
Operation Manager to take responsibility for all farming
activities on two recently purchased dairy farms
• You will need to balance the needs of manufacturing who utilise
the farm for the irrigation of wastewater, with the running
outcomes
• You will assist with the creation and implementation of a long-
term strategy for the farms - compliant, sustainable and
profitable.
• Need to create strong working relationships with the
manufacturing and operations teams. This role will be to
create a world leading, best farm practice operation.

Synlait’s 21st Century Milk Nutrition Company
Farms Operations Manager contd…
• We require an organised, motivated and energetic Leader who
likes a challenge and works to high personal standards.
• You will be an excellent communicator with an eye for detail,
able to take responsibility and show initiative.
• Responsible for takeover of farm ; a key role in setting up the
farms for success for 2021/2022 season
• Qualifications:
• Agricultural degree required
• Experience: 10 years’ experience working on dairy farms
• Experience in managing accounts preferred
• If you’re ready to change the game, apply now!

Case 16: Rabobank - Agribusiness Manager
Rabobank is the world’s leading specialist in food and agribusiness banking. One of our key
strengths lies in our people who have a deep understanding of agriculture and are
committed to adding long-term value for clients
• This role will be responsible for the management and growth of your own
portfolio of rural clients in the food and agribusiness sector in accordance
with Bank and Regional goals for profitability, client satisfaction and credit
quality.
• This role will deliver technical , cash flow analysis and structure complex
transactions while collaborating as a member of the regional leadership
team . Day to day, you will be involved in deal teams, identify capital
structure and ensure the credit application process is completed to a high
standard while showing excellent management and mentoring
capabilities.
• To thrive in this role, you will have solid experience in relationship management
gained within large rural agribusiness banking and business or corporate
banking with an agribusiness focus.

Rabo bank-Agribusiness Manager contd…
• You will have strong interpersonal and communication skills and a sound
knowledge of the rural industry and specialised financial products.
You will demonstrate the ability to balance Structure and Pricing for
risk/reward and proven ability to collaborate and take
transaction/request ownership within core deal team.
• Ideally you will have degree in finance, economics, accounting,
agriculture or similar degree
• Our great working conditions, broad learning and development
programmes and the opportunity to work together for the greater
good
• We are committed to keep learning. We have an open culture, where
you can be yourself and be valued for who you are.
• If you are interested in Growing a Better World Together please follow the
link and apply online or visit www.rabobank.co.nz./careers
• Rabobank is not accepting submissions from recruitment agencies for this
role.

Case 17: Consultant Co. on Organic farming –What knowledge skills
Needed ?
• We Introduce Organic Farming and Organic Food
• Knowledge on nutrient cycles, inputs types on farm prepared
and commercially available off farm inputs with its
composition etc
• We share the common organic package of practices for
selected crops
• Knowledge on post harvest handling of the produce, value
adding, processing methods, packing and organic farming
• Need expertise in organic certification in India, and available
certification systems in India
• Take up research on organic food market domestic, national
and international, on leading institutions, countries doing
OF and knowledge on reference business plans for organic
food business and market linkage.

Connecting entrepreneurs and Investors
• Focus area: Agri business /Organic farming
• Many big companies seeking for interested entrepreneurs and investors; We
they connect them
• The Angel Investment Network (AIN
This platform helps entrepreneurs with great business ideas find the
funding and guidance they need to grow their businesses and succeed.
AIN connects entrepreneurs with a global network of nearly 100,000
investors
• The AIN is a free service for investors interested in funding and becoming
involved with some of the most innovative and exciting startups from all
over the world
• Membership gives investors access to around 50,000 investment opportunities
each year as well as allowing them to be part of a global network of nearly
100,000 investors. Visit the site for more details:

Jobs Abroad : Naukri gulf.com
Gulf countries
• Business Unit Head - Agriculture
• Agriculture/Soft Commodities Trader
• Landscape Engineer
• Agricultural Data Analyst
• Sales Representative : Emirates Bio Fertilizer Factory
• Irrigation Engineer (Tanseeq Investment Co)
• Pest Control - Operations & Services Manager (Dubai /
Lebanon)- Client of Davidson consulting
• Seeking a high caliber sales executive with proven sales
experience within the agriculture machinery sector to
join the team in Palmerston North.
• Field Agronomist

Opportunities in Africa
• Many faculty members went to Ethiopia/Botswana for teaching
• My visit to Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda
• One of the biggest constraints to the development of Agribusiness in
Africa, is the lack of quality personnel to board level executives,
directors, management, and
• Technical and finance staff with strong experience of both agronomy
and business management, frequently under hardship conditions
• Due to unprecedented growth, we cover numerous disciplines including
plantation management, farming, commercial forestry, tea, coffee,
livestock palm oil, rubber, sugar cane, pineapples, bananas and bio-
fuel crops and looking for quality personnel
• Uganda –Indian companies –Sugar & Flowers ; Banking

Jobs Abroad (NZ)-Urban farming
• Shoots
• Shoots is a world-first in NZ - a company growing amazing
microgreens in an indoor farm, delivering to Wellington's top
restaurants and select supermarkets.
• Check us out at: Online: www.shoots.co.nz
• You are happy tending to, delivering and speaking about our
incredible Microgreens with passion to potential new clients.
• Love creating great food or are fascinated by
plants/hydroponics
• No experience is necessary because our operation is the first
of its kind in New Zealand. Instead what we're hiring on is
attitude.
• We're creating a hard working, creative, upbeat team,
and seek like-minded people.
• Experience and knowledge in the hospitality, merchandising or
social media would be a bonus!

Job abroad-New Zealand -
• Horticulture Level 5 Nursery Person
• Van Lier Nurseries Limited
• Supplying premium quality roses, flowers and plants to florists, wholesalers,
retailers and other cut flower growers for over 50 years. We are now seeking an
experienced and trained nursery person for the business operation to assist
with the general production of product and provide support to the rose crop
supervisor and propagator
Main responsibilities, tasks, and duties may include, but aren't limited to:
• Preparing plant media before planting: Selecting cuttings for plant propagation
• Planting new flower plants. Picking, sorting, bunching and packaging flowers for
sale, while monitoring quality
Fertilising, weeding, pruning and maintaining rose plants.Plan spray programme.
Assist in the mixing and spraying of flowers with dedicated spray gear &
equipment Newzealand
• Bayer New Zealand Ltd –More jobs from this company
• Senior Technical Field Officer ( Amberley)
• Farmlands Co-operative (Assistant Farm Manager)

Job abroad –NZ contd…
• Watering of plants via environmental computer & testing of
PH and EC levels.
• Dispatch water and leaf samples to the lab. Use analysis to
formulate nutrient and spray plan and implement; Assist
with weekend picking when required as per the staff roster.
• Ensure that your work and working environment complies
with OSH standards.
• Supervise up to 5 other glasshouse workers particularly in
the absence of the Crop Supervisor.
• Participate in and facilitate the Plant Producer Bio Security
accreditation of the nursery by attending planning meetings
and NZPPI workshops and preparing documents.
• Monitor, record and assess information for KPI targets and
production bonus programme.

NZ
• materials. The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers,
hands, and wrists.
• Teamwork – A resourceful team player who excels at building trusting
relationships with work colleagues.
• Communication - High attention to detail and accuracy, along with excellent
communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Personal attributes – Mature, responsible and can work under pressure.
• To be considered for this role you will need to be physically fit, have a positive
attitude and have the ability to work with minimum supervision. You must
have a minimum of two years related experience in the industry, along with a
Diploma in Horticulture at Level 5. A current Approved Handlers Certificate and
Grow Safe Certificate is essential. This is not an entry level position.
• This position is a physical role, which includes heavy lifting at times. This
position also requires working in high temperatures during the summer
months inside glass or plastic houses. Most of the working day will involve
standing, crouching and reaching.

Opportunities in Quasi Govt.Organisations in India
• National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)
• Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority
• Food Corporation of India
• Genetics Resources Bureau
• National Centre for Integrated Pest Management
• National Commission on Agriculture
• National Horticulture Board (NHB)
• National Oilseeds and Vegetable Oils Development Board (NOVOD)
• National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC)
• National Centre for Cold-chain Development (NCCD) - under PPP mode of
functioning.
• National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED)
• Hindustan Organic Chemicals Limited
• Hindustan Insecticides
• Indian Potash Limited
• Indian Fertilizers Limited

Can you become a Farmer ?
• Agri graduate can become technicians, scientists, managers and
leaders
• Can he be a economically viable farmer ? Yes. How ? While studying,
acquire capabilities in applying what you learn with all seriousness
mind oriented to scientific applications ; not for scoring marks.
• Self-employment in agriculture is not as easy as writing a
java/computer program by staying late nights with the help of Google
guru
• There are many external dependencies when it comes to agriculture.
That too farmer is the one who is directly penalized by nature for not
having on time monsoons
• This is where you must acquire managerial capabilities to deal with
production, marketing, risks , government policies and programs

Farming : Make it viable
• Because of poor condition of roads, the farm product gets delayed to reach the
consumer. This delay also leads to perishing of some of the crop yield. Road
network is required also for the supply input to the farms.
• The restrictions on free-trade between states should be removed. This creates
artificial barrier in free-trade thereby resulting in losses to farmers.
• Small holdings of land in hands of small farmer results in poor implementation
of modern technology because small farmers can not afford high cost
technology. This needs backing of land reforms also.
• Farming must have multi-enterprises (animal husbandry, poultry, sericulture,
etc. and also off-farm sources of income)
• Diversion of good agri-land to non-agri utilization should be discouraged.
Subsidies should be rationalised. Instead, a Scientific, Economically viable and
long-term policy is required to modernise and Indian agriculture viable

Attitude for Farming
• You shall know about the soil of your land and
source of water available in your farm.
• There is also need to decide about selection of
crops mix and cropping systems, seasonal crops,
commercial crops, food crops, flower crops, fruit
crops etc.
• Be prepared and gather information, grasp the
practical knowledge about the basic things of
farming. You can start with two or three crops.
You need to plan for the perennial trees and
plants on borders.

Some More understanding
• You can become an agri entrepreneur. You need to know
preparing bankable projects and desirable knowledge of
economics of farming and related activities
• Nowadays there are misleading advertisements/spread
misinformation such as zero budget farming ; people
support this are who are ideologically oriented or
frustrated with farming
• People often confused farmers’ suicides vs viable farming.
• Suicides happen due risks such as monsoon failures,
problems in marketing, social issues, debt ridden
individuals in dry farming areas (Govt.has to plan to deal with
these issues by creating non-farm activities).

Hi-Tech Agriculture
• Israel a leader in Hi-tech/ My visit t Cairo
• Agricultural biotech companies
• Genome tweeting and advanced crop breeding
• Developing future microbes for fixing P & K
• Nano tech products have great future
• Tackling agricultural water scarcity
• New environmental packaging line for the fresh
fruit and vegetable industry
• New X-ray inspection system for beverages,
liquids and solid foods
• Climate computer for mid-range segment

Hi-Tech Agriculture
• Horti Gardens solar system
• Benefits of LED lighting in strawberry cultivation
• Boosting strawberry crop using IoT and Computer Vision
• Growing food out of thin air
• Robots to help on the farm
• Labor cost savings in crop care
• Electronic shipping kiosk to minimize check-in processes
• Which AI algorithm will have the greenest thumbs?
• Why AI will transform the greenhouse industry
• UV disinfection devices on the market

Academic Pursuits
• Increasingly, having a Ph.D has become essential requirement to
pursue teaching and research career
• In India, we have Post graduate degree in about 30 different
disciplines/ subjects
• Job opportunities available in ICAR –SAU institutions, private
Agricultural Colleges, General Universities, Private Research
Institutions/Organisations, Input Companies
• One can pursue higher education studies in globally leading
Universities and seek positions in International organisations
(GCIAR Institutions ,United Nations, World Bank, Asian Development
Bank , Leading Foundations, Special Projects, etc)
• A Ph.D from a Leading University in USA will help you to land in a Job in US both
in Public and Private institutions and also in Intl.Institutions

Academic Pursuits contd…
• With in India, We have 75 Agri Universities both Central and State ;
now better movement of Ph.Ds across the country than before
• Each hundreds of Faculty members are retiring from ICAR SAUs/
Other institutions offering agricultural education craeting vacancies
• We have at least 30 universities offering B.Sc Ag degree program
and they experience shortage of adequately qualified faculty
members
• I do not see any problem for a quality Ph.D holder in Agriculture to
land in a reasonably a good job with in the country
• In-breeding in agricultural universities resulted in decline in the
quality of Ph. Ds in the country (Move across the Universities)
• One must have the strong desire and commitment to learn the
subject and write a doctoral thesis of high standard

Careers Scope & Opportunities for Masters Degree Holders
• Agriculture Research Scientist
• Subject Matter Specialist in different Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs)
• Extension Officer
• Field Officer, Agriculture Officer, Farm Manager
• Plantation Manager , Research Officer,
• Officer in Quality Assurance in Related Fields
• Agriculture Loan Officer in Banks
• Production Manager Operations
• Manager in Fertilizer Units
• Business Development Manager
• Food Processing Units in GovernmentAgri-Preneurship
• Seed Technologies Firm

Public Sector Employment
• Annually thousands of graduates are obsorbed as Extension Officers
by the Development Departments of State Government such as
Agriculture, Horticulture, Agric engineering, Sericulture, Forestry,
Animal Husbandry and Dairy, Agricultural marketing, Seed
Certification.
• Central Government also absorbs agricultural graduates in the area of
procurement & marketing (eg.FCI), quality certification (quarantine)
of exports and import in ag commodities and in food processing
industry
• The major gap in getting these jobs are mainly by absence of
adequate preparation for ‘selection tests and interview’ and special
qualifications for specialized jobs such quality certification and
quarantine, landscaping and urban gardening

Links for Jobs abroad
•
Jobs for Graduates in Canada | 2020 Virtual Career Expo
Ad·www.in-tac-expo.com/
Agriculture Jobs In Canada - 12 Agriculture Openings In ...
• www.naukri.com › agriculture Jobs › Jobs in canada
Over 600 business partners across Canada. Partially funded
by the Government of Canada. We help highly-skilled
international educated professionals find jobs in their field.
View Schedule. Watch A Video. Inquire Online. Types:
Information Technology, Accounting.
• Seeking a Agriculture Engineer in Dubai ( 2 - 3 yrs)
• United Arab Emirates
• Agriculture Machinery Technician jobs in United Arab
Emirates - ARS Agencies Private Limited

Subscribe to Job Alerts
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• Create Employer Account
• HR/Workplace

Look for Job Websites
• IndiaAgroNet.Com
• https://www.monsterindia.com/search/agriculture-
jobs?searchId=045eaebf-7b9e-4c82-86ae-fa6acd29fdfe
• https://in.linkedin.com/jobs/agriculture-
jobs?position=1&pageNum=0
• https://in.jobrapido.com/?r=auto&w=graduate+agriculture&utm_s
ource=adwords&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=ADWORDS_I
N_JOB_SEARCH&utm_agid=1981382384&utm_kwid=1925594926
0&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1d_cmZeD6gIVR1RgCh2_aQbr
• https://sukhiodisha.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=art
icle&id=5&Itemid=105&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-
sPXgJiD6gIVy34rCh3XMgkWEAAYASAAEgLPgPD_BwE
• s

Look for Job Websites
• https://www.indeed.co.in/companies?from=gnav-homepage
• https://www.mysarkarinaukri.com/find/agriculture-job
• https://www.naukri.com/job-listings-bsc-agriculture-candidates-
nidhi-maritime-consultancy-pvt-ltd-hyderabad-s
• https://www.simplyhired.co.in/search?q=bsc+agriculture&job=j3Vr
LFr6U8Plz3kLMwzt3wcwQAoTpw03_2rhPkQDzuPY49NXFF1EDA
• https://www.simplyhired.co.in/search?q=bsc+agriculture&job=84v
F25agRjI1KGilk_2-6fWvJcL7DLTUA4LrOAQgU2Sx5f2a65txCQ

Resume/CV
• Tools & Resources
• CV/Cover Letter Service
• CV/Cover Letters Templates
• Career Blog
• Job XML/RSS Feeds
• Career Resources
• Testimonies

Economics & IT
• Macro economic knowledge
• Data mining and visualization
• SWOT analysis
• Ag. Policy analysis
• Capacity to conduct impact studies
• Theory of change (World Bank, USAID /ADB projects)
• IT applications (diagnosis, sources of tech &
commercial information)

Data analytics
• Data Analytics: Quantitative vs Qualitative
• Agri business graduates must closely monitor
data aggregations so that , say , input demand
predictions are reliable to help agri-input
industry
• Data visualization : graphic representation of a
data analysis for clear and effective
communication of results and insights

Recent trends : Data mining, Predictive analytics,
Machine learning
• More advanced types of data analytics include data
mining, involving sorting through large data sets to
identify trends, patterns and relationships; (Very much
applicable for trials in different soils, different seasons,
pest/disease infestations)
• Predictive analytics which seeks to predict pest &
disease incidences, nutrient applications, price
forecasting, crop production predictions, etc
• Machine learning, an AI technique that uses
automated algorithms to churn through data sets more
quickly than farm data scientists can do via
conventional analytical modeling

Agri Develop. Projects : Baseline survey
• In project management, a baseline is a known state by
which something is measured or compared.
• All projects funded by intl.agencies require baseline survey
to assess pre project situation ; which will be compared
with later with post project situation in order to measure
the impact.
• Social scientists must develop skills to conduct the baseline
survey , organise data for mid term and final evaluation.
• Number of agencies such as PwC, Snow Mountain
Engineering Services and Others look for consultants for
evaluation

Stability & Sensitivity Analyses
• Stability: How generalizable the results are ?.
Better to check stability of the results. Reliable
and reproducible? Two main ways of doing this:
• Cross validation: By splitting the data in multiple
parts we can check if an analysis (like a fitted
model) based on one part of the data generalizes
to another part of the data as well.
• Sensitivity analysis: A procedure to study the
behavior of a model when global parameters are
(systematically) varied. One way to do this is with
bootstrapping (one’s own method)

Skills for Social scientists -01
• Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)
• SYSTAT, GENSTAT, GLIM, MINITAB, SAS
• Software for Survey Data Analysis (SSDA 1.0) (IASRI)
• SurveyMonkey provides free, customizable surveys, as well as a
suite of paid back-end programs that include data analysis, sample
selection, bias elimination, and data representation tools.
• R Project for Statistical Computing. R project is
a software environment where statistical computing and graphics
are done. ...
• Gretl. ...
• Grocer: An Econometric Toolbox for Scilab. ...
• GeoDa. ...
• Draco. ...
• Stata. ...
• PSPP. ...
• IBM SPSS Statistics Software.

Skills for Soci.Sciences - 02
• Discrete Choice Experiments :DCE assess
people's decisions in hypothetical situations ,
eg. before a new product launched, a new
technology becomes available, or a new policy
is implemented
• Lab expt. in a lab/a classroom /a computer
room where often students invited to take part
in an experiment which aims to test economic
behavior in response to different (policy)
interventions.

Application of Econometrics to Agriculture
• Econometrics can help to estimate predictive models.
• To get how much of the input can be used to get optimal production
of the farms
• Forecasting the future demands for agriculture products.
• Minister Agriculture needs to know supply response for grain
production to determine appropriate price policy
• Public official wants to know sensitivity of food consumption to
income changes in order to analyze the need for food subsidies
• President of grain export firm inquires about the import demand
function for major consuming countries
• Chief analyst for a market advisory firm is interested in the
relationship between corn ending stocks and the price of corn

Software/Estimation
• Speed ; User-friendliness; Latest econometric features
• Does it matter which software you use?
• From a numerical accuracy standpoint, YES
Computers are exceedingly precise and can make
mistakes with exquisite precision.
“ Econometric software has bugs’
McCullough and Vinod
• McCullough, B.D. and H.D. Vinod. "The Numerical
Accuracy of Econometric Software.” Journal of
Economic Literature 37(1999):663-665.

Agrl. Policy analysis
• Quantitative Models for Agricultural Policy Analysis
• Centre of Advanced Faculty Training in Agricultural
Economics , IARI
• IFPRI, World Bank Research Studies
• GCIAR Socio-economic division research
publications
• FAO publications
• Project Appraisal /Evaluation
• Impact assessment studies

Skills & Capabilities
Thank You

Future of Indian Agricultural Education: Must-Have Skills and Creative Capacities for Farm Graduates

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