Agricultural Engineering Courses in India

Agricultural Engineering Courses in India have a great significance in the development of the country as Agriculture forms a major source of revenue. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is the apex body for coordinating, guiding and managing research and education in Agriculture including Horticulture, Fisheries and Animal Sciences in India. ICAR, New Delhi, conducts All India Entrance Exam to fill 15% seats in all Agriculture Universities all over India. Agricultural engineering is the application of principles, knowledge and techniques of one or all branches of engineering, science and technology to agricultural production and processing. It's objective is to find out the solution of the problems in the field of agriculture for increasing agricultural productivity, increasing the standard of living of farmers. Agricultural Engineers utilise engineering principles to all activities related to agriculture and horticulture. Improvement in agricultural farm machinery, farm structures, rural electrification, bio-gas, new technologies in the design and manufacture of agricultural products and also conservation of soil and water are some of the jobs handled by an agricultural engineer.

Some of its specialized fields are -

• Irrigation And Drainage Systems Engineering
• Post-Harvest Technology
• Soil And Water Engineering
• Agricultural Waste Management
• Food Engineering / Process Control
• Agricultural Economics
• Agricultural Machinery Design
• Poultry And Fish Processing
• Dairy Management
• Crop Production

Content

The study of this field includes all or few of these –

• Crop Production Technology
• Fundamentals of soil science
• Agricultural Marketing and Transfer of Technology
• Food Plant Design, Food Safety and Management

Objectives

1. To generate technology for augmenting technically upgraded agriculture productivity and farm returns, consistent with the socio-economic and cultural needs of the farming community on a suitable basis.
2. Finding out the solution of the problems for increasing agricultural productivity, increasing the standard of living of farmers and increasing the overall earnings per worker
3. To be creative and a acquire keen interest in agricultural activities and recognise a challenge to improve agricultural production by means of better engineering methods and equipment.

Basic Requirements

The basic eligibility criteria for a candidate aspiring to be an Agricultural Engineer is graduate degree - B.E / B. Tech. or at least a diploma in any one of the several branches of Engineering. To do a B.E. in Agricultural Engineering eligibility is 10+2, with Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and preferably Biology.

There are also 17 Regional Engineering colleges all over the country which offer admission in various branches of engineering, on the basis of marks obtained in the Class 12 examination.

There is also the (AMIE) Associate Membership Examination of the Institute of Engineers which enables working people in the private and public sector, or diploma holders to acquire a Bachelor's degree through distance education, for career advancement.

Agricultural Engineering Colleges in India and Universities

• Aligarh College of Engineering and Technology
• College of Technology and Engineering  ( MPUAT )
• IIT Kharagpur
• Punjab Agricultural University
• Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University
• Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
• University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad

Job Perspectives

Employment Opportunities are abundant for Agriculture Engineers as career opportunities exist in product engineering, equipment research and design, facilities design, environmental consulting, and engineering management. Agricultural engineering jobs in India are mostly pursued in central and state government bodies agriculture and agriculture engineering, agro industry, minor irrigation corporation, Food corporation of India, National Seed Corporation of India, National Diary Development Board, Agriculture Research Organization, Agriculture university, Diary and food industries, Nationalized Bank, Agriculture machinery manufacturing organization, tea gardens etc.

Some Job Types

1. Trainers
2. Researcher
3. Scientist
4. Product Design Engineer
5. Project Coordinators
6. Project Directors
7. Directors Of Institutes
8. Assistant Directors-General And Deputy Directors-General
9. Head Greenkeeper
10. Horticulturist
11. Farm Manager

Some Employment Areas

• Government Sector including the railways, municipal corporations, telecommunications departments etc.
• Public Sector organisations
• Private companies
• As commissioned officers in the defence services
• Research organisations and laboratories
• As technical experts on engineering projects in banks and financial corporations
• Agriculture unit / company
• Consultancy