Agricultural Engineering
Agricultural engineers are those professionals who develop and design new processes, systems and equipment for agricultural products and operations. Agricultural engineering is a combination of principles of engineering and biological sciences. It is also known as biological engineering. It combines other areas such as animal biology, plant biology, mechanical engineering, civil engineering and chemical engineering.
Basically, agricultural engineers are required to go for field visits so that they can observe/ examine whether the tools or processes are working properly or not. The key role of agricultural engineers is to improve agricultural production through better engineering methods, inventions, technology and equipment for which there is a desire to make a good intellectual and future difference in farming. Also, they are involved in improving the agricultural farm machinery, farm structures, rural electrification, bio-gas, new technologies in the design and manufacture of agricultural products. Agricultural engineers have opportunities for bright careers, especially in India.
Courses
There are multiple levels of courses available in the field of agriculture engineering and some important graduate, post-graduate programs offered are given below:
Under Graduate Level:
- Bachelor in Wood & Digital Transition of Production
- Bachelor of Agro industrial Engineering
- Bachelor of Engineering in Agricultural Engineering
- Bachelor of Technology in Agricultural Engineering
- Degree in Food & Agricultural Engineering
These all courses are the professional undergraduate courses offered in different specializations and have slight differences in syllabus. Duration of course is four years.
Post Graduate Level:
- Master of Technology in Agricultural Engineering
- Master of Bioscience Engineering: Agro and Ecosystems Engineering
- Master of Engineering in Agricultural Engineering
- Master of Science in Agricultural Engineering
- Master of Science in Agricultural Environmental Management Engineering
- Master of Science in Agricultural Water Management Engineering
- MS in Agricultural Engineering
The duration of these courses is 2 years.
Diploma in Agricultural Engineering: The duration of this course is 3 years.
Required Skills
The skills required for Architecture courses include:
- Communication skills
- Mathematics & Science skills
- People management
- Reasoning and problem solving skills
- Self management
- Space relations / Spatial intelligence
- Team player
- Time management
Eligibility Criteria
It is required for a science background to pursue a course in Agricultural Engineering.
Undergraduate Level:
Followings are the eligibility criteria for admission to undergraduate courses in Agriculture Engineering.
- Candidates should have passed class 12 examination or equivalent with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics or Biology from a recognised university/board. The eligibility criteria may vary according to the institution/university.
- The percentage requirement is 50% and above for most of the Universities/ institutions/colleges. There is a 5% relaxation for reserved categories (OBC / SC / ST and PWD’s) students.
- There are also age limit criteria in some colleges/ universities.
- The admission to the most of engineering colleges/ institutes/ universities is done on the basis of marks secured in the entrance examination organised by the concerned authority.
Postgraduate Level:
- Candidates must have a B.Tech/B.E. degree in Agriculture or its equivalent from recognized by the universities/institution.
- The admission process is based on either Gate score or entrance tests.
Diploma:
- Eligibility for diploma courses in agricultural engineering is 10+2 and these courses can be done through polytechnics.
Entrance Examination
Undergraduate Level: Followings are the main entrance exams for admission to undergraduate courses in Agriculture Engineering.
- AIEEE – All India Engineering Entrance Examination
- AP EAMCET – Andhra Pradesh Engineering Agricultural and Medical Common Entrance Test
- BCECE – Bihar Combined Entrance Competitive Examination
- CET GADVASU – Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University Common Entrance Test
- CG PAT – Chhattisgarh Professional Examination Board Pre Agriculture Test
- GBPUAT – Govind Ballabh Pant University of Technology and Agriculture
- GUJCET – Gujarat Common Entrance Test
- ICAR-AIEEA UG – The Indian Council of Agricultural Research All India Entrance Examination
- JEE Main – Joint Entrance Examination (Main)
- KCET – Karnataka Common Entrance Test
- KEAM – Kerala Engineering Architecture Medical
- SEE UPTU – State Entrance Examination, Uttar Pradesh Technical University
Postgraduate Level: Followings are the main entrance exams for admission to PG courses in Agriculture Engineering.
- GATE – Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering
- ICAR-AIEEA PG – The Indian Council of Agricultural Research All India Entrance Examination
Job Profiles
After obtaining the required educational qualification and skills to become an agricultural engineer, there are varieties of job profiles available in this field that you can target based on your interest. The following are some of the job profiles available in the field of agricultural engineering:
Agricultural Engineer: The key role of an agricultural engineer is to design agricultural machinery components and tools, using computer-aided design (CAD) technology. Also, they test agricultural machinery and equipment to ensure that they perform properly and design food-processing plants and monitor manufacturing operations.
Agricultural Inspector: The responsibility of agricultural inspectors is to ensure that businesses comply with federal and state laws and regulations that control the health, quality, and safety of meat, poultry, egg products, fruits, and vegetables. They also inspect food- and meat-processing plants to ensure that the facilities meet quality standards.
Agricultural Specialist: The agricultural specialist is a special type of Border Protection (CBP) officer who is in charge of knowing and implementing rules and regulations of transferring various agricultural commodities in borders.
Agronomist: An agronomist deals with the science of utilizing plants for food, fuel, feed and fiber. They are specializing in areas such as crop rotation, irrigation & drainage, planet breeding, soil science, weed control & disease & pest control.
Farm Shop Manager: The role of the farm (agricultural) shop manager is to make a plan for finance and production to maintain farm progress against budget standards and to make practical activities, such as driving tractors, operating machinery, feeding livestock or spraying fields. They are also responsible for the repair of farm buildings, machinery and equipment.
Food and Beverage Supervisor: They are usually responsible for all business operations of a dining establishment. Their duty generally includes interviews, recruitment, training, scheduling and managing of the staff, as well as monitoring the list of food and beverage, supplies and other restaurant equipment.
Survey Research Agricultural Engineer: They are responsible for assessing the environmental impact of agricultural production methods and supervising construction projects such as land drainage, reclamation and irrigation and solving engineering problems such designing vehicles to move in different weather conditions.
Top Recruiters
There are employment opportunities in both government and private sectors. Also Agricultural engineers can work as technical experts on engineering projects in banks and financial corporations. After becoming an engineer they can also establish their own small unit or consultancy. Agricultural Engineers are required in the following sectors:
- Agricultural finance corporations
- Agricultural machinery manufacturing organizations
- Agricultural Universities
- Area development projects
- Consultancies
- Dairy, food, agro industries
- Departments of Agricultural Engineering
- Farming Industry Consultants
- Manufacturing agricultural implements
- Minor irrigation projects
- NC Department of Agriculture
- NC Department of Transportation
- Non-government voluntary organisations
- Processing agricultural products
- Recruiting Companies
- Tea gardens
- Water management
Followings are organisations/ companies which will hire Agricultural Engineers:
- Agricultural Commodities Processors
- Amul Dairy
- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
- Food Corporation of India
- Indian Council of Agricultural Research
- ITC
- Mother Dairy
- NABARD
- National Dairy Development Board
- National Seeds Corporation
- Nestle India
- PRADAN
Institutions
National level institutes offering Agricultural Engineering courses
| Name of the institution | City |
|---|---|
| Amity University | Noida |
| Birla Institute of Technology and Science | Pilani |
| Indian Institute of Science (IISc) | Bangalore |
| Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) | Delhi |
| Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) | Kanpur |
| Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) | Kharagpur |
| Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) | Roorkee |
| Lovely Professional University | Phagwara |
| SRM University | Amaravati |
Questions & Answers
Q) Is being an agriculture engineer a stressful job?
A) Being an agriculture engineer is not a stressful career. It depends on how much you love your work.
Q) Which companies recruit agriculture engineers on a regular basis?
A) National Dairy Development Board, Food Corporation of India, NABARD, Nestle India, ITC etc hire agricultural engineers on a regular basis.
Q) Can a student with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics at the 10+2 level become an agriculture engineer?
A) Yes, science stream students irrespective of the subject combinations they had in their 10+2 level studies can become an agriculture engineer. But students who have studied Biology at the +2 level are preferred more.
Q) Is agriculture engineering a good career choice for girls?
A) Yes, becoming an agriculture engineer is a good career choice for girls if they pursue their studies seriously.