Rising scope of agriculture technology as a viable career

Agriculture has a growing scope in India as India has been an agro-based economy. Agriculture is the prime source of generating food for living beings.

The growing population has increased the demand for food and the increasing population is going on occupying more and more land and the land for cultivation of crops is going on decreasing.

The demand for food grains is going on increasing and the land for cultivation of crops is going on decreasing; such a situation deserves the emergence and development of agriculture technology to maximise food productivity to cater to the growing demand of increasing population in India and abroad.

The technology in the domain of agriculture needs to be enhanced and hence more people will be required who would have the knowledge, skills and competencies in the converged the domain of agriculture technology.

The agricultural production in India is more or less consistent and is not increasing significantly in the absence of some breakthrough technological innovation in the domain of agriculture.

In situations of unpredictable monsoon, it is imperative on the part of agriculture professionals to evolve and develop the latest technologies to maximise agricultural yield and productivity.

This gives a big opportunity to further maximize per acre productivity so as to maximise the overall revenue with the farmers.

The 7.73 billion global population today is inching towards 8 billion. The Indian population of 138 crores is inching towards 150 crores at a very fast pace.

The increasing population of India and the rest of the world is increasing the pressure of demand for food which in turn is mounting up the pressure for increasing the agricultural output.

Agriculture in India contributes to around 14 per cent of the GDP but it involves the employment of around 42 per cent of the Indian Population.

Indian Agriculture sector witnessed super normal productivity due to better monsoon which ultimately led to lower prices to the farmers for many agricultural products.

Skills required

If one can pursue a career in agriculture sector there are certain traits required. The students are required to have optimum knowledge, skills and competencies in the domain of agriculture, technology and allied areas.

They should have a strong passion in the field of agriculture and allied technologies. The students are required to have an optimal blending of domain knowledge as well as knowledge about the emerging technologies in the domain.

A qualification from an institute of repute is not just an option but has become mandatory to enable one to penetrate the Agriculture Sector.

Technology Skills and Engineering Skills optimally integrated with the domain knowledge of agriculture would be an added advantage.

Job options

The job opportunities in the domain of agriculture technology will also, increase with the increase in the rate of growth of population in India and abroad.

There are a plethora of career options to choose from: Agriculture Scientist, Agriculture Equipment Manufacturer, Agricultural Equipment Maintenance Manager, Agriculture Portal Developer, Agriculture Software Developer, Agricultural App Developer, Plant Protection and Quarantine Manager, Agricultural Pesticides Manufacturing Manager, Agriculture Research and Development Manager, Agricultural Product Marketing Manager, Agricultural Supply Chain Manager, Agricultural Equipment Maintenance Manager, Agricultural Products & Services Manager, Agricultural Product Patenting Manager, Agricultural Software Services Manager, Agriculture Technology Research Manager, Agriculture Manager, Agriculture Technological Products E-Commerce Portal Developer, Agriculture Technology Development Manager, Agriculture Technology Accelerator / Centre Manager, Agriculture Technology Incubation Centre Manager, Agriculture Technology Commercialization Centre Manager, Agriculture Equipment Designer, Agriculture Equipment Electrical Services Manager and various other allied positions.

Initial salary

Agriculture Technology has been offering a decent salary start. The sincere students passing out from the programme may expect a salary in the range of Rs 2.5 lakh to 6 lakh.

The MNCs may also offer a good salary in the range of Rs 3 to 9 lakh. The students are advised to focus on availing the internship opportunity and focus on experiential learning.

The students should also focus on acquiring strong technology and information technology skills.

(The author is Vice- Chancellor of Sanskriti University, Mathura)