BSc Agriculture: Course, Scope, Jobs, Salary

What do you think of when someone mentions Agriculture? Back-breaking labour in the scorching heat? Low pays? Or a man using a tractor with a cloth wrapped around his head? To start a professional career in Agriculture, you can enrol in a diploma or a bachelor’s degree. A 4-year undergraduate degree course, BSc Agriculture is a step in the right direction. From soil management and plant breeding to animal husbandry and agricultural economics, a degree in BSc Agriculture will acquaint you with various facets and components of the Agriculture sector. 

BSc Agriculture Course Highlights

BSc Agriculture Course Overview and Duration

BSc Agriculture is a 4-year undergraduate degree course that includes topics related to agriculture and its applications. The subject also has further streams such as agronomy, horticulture, plant pathology, entomology, soil science, food technology, agricultural economics, home science, fisheries, forestry, and veterinary science. It aims at providing modern techniques of agricultural sciences to better the water resource management, soil texture, poultry management, land surveying, etc. The main objective of this course is to assist the future generation with ways to improve agricultural productivity and yield along with minimizing the loss of crops. The course fee of BSc Agriculture is generally 2 Lakh to 3 Lakh INR in India and 10 Lakh to 20 Lakh abroad (varying as per the university).

‘If agriculture goes wrong, nothing else will have a chance to go right in the country’.
– M.S. Swaminathan

BSc Agriculture Eligibility

The general admission requirements for BSc Agriculture are as follows:

• Students must have 10+2 (preferably in Science) or an equivalent examination with the science stream subjects such as Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Biology. 
• If you are planning to study BSc Agriculture abroad, you will have to provide SAT/ACT scores along with language proficiency scores of IELTS/TOEFL/PTE, etc. Moreover, you will also have to provide SOP and LORs as well.

BSc Agriculture Subjects

The major BSc Agriculture subjects covered in this undergraduate programme are as follows:

Agronomy	Plant Biochemistry	Water Management
Study of Pests and Crops	Agricultural Meteorology	Watershed Management
Organic Farming	Farming System	Plant Breeding
Food Technology	Plant Pathology	Agricultural Economics
Horticulture	Entomology	Genetics

BSc Agriculture Syllabus

Though the actual course offerings might vary as per the course and university, BSc Agriculture mainly covers the study of plants, agricultural economics, agriculture engineering, entomology, and microbiology and psychology. Here is a general overview of BSc Agriculture syllabus:

Semester 1	Indian Rural Sociology and Constitution  Comprehension and Communication Skills in English  Plant Biochemistry Introduction to Computer Applications  Educational Psychology
Semester 2	Agricultural Finance and Cooperation  Principles of Agricultural Economics  Trade and Prices  Agricultural Marketing  Fundamentals of Agribusiness Management
Semester 3	Farm Power and Machinery  Energy Sources and their Application in Agriculture Protected Cultivation Structures and Agro-processing  Principles of Soil and Water Engineering
Semester 4	General Entomology  Crop Pests and their Management  Economic Entomology  Sericulture
Semester 5	Extension Methodologies for Transfer of Agricultural Technologies  Dimensions of Agricultural Extension  Entrepreneurship Development
Semester 6	Soil Microbiology  Agriculture microbiology
Semester 7	Agricultural Statistics
Semester 8	Introductory agriculture, principles of agronomy, and agricultural meteorology Practical crop production I Practical crop production II Field crops I (Kharif) Field crops II (Rabi) Irrigation water management Weed management Rain-fed agriculture and watershed management Farming systems, organic farming, and sustainable agriculture Experimental techniques in agricultural research I Natural resource management Horticulture Crop production Agribusiness management Social sciences Integrated livestock farming Bio inputs Commercial agriculture Genetics and biotechnology

BSc Agriculture Abroad

Science stream students with Physics, Chemistry and Biology as subjects in senior secondary school are eligible to pursue a degree in BSc Agriculture. The minimum percentage criteria may vary from one university to another but a good IELTS or TOEFL score may land you in a college of your choice.

Best Universities for BSc Agriculture Abroad

Here is a list of universities offering BSc Agriculture degree:

Name of the University	QS World University Rankings (2023)
McGill University	31
University of Alberta	110
University of Nottingham	114
Melbourne Polytechnic	33
Humboldt University	131
Ferrum College	51
Cornell University	20
The University of California, Davis	102
University of Queensland	50
Royal Agriculture University	–

BSc Agriculture Colleges in India 

Tabulated below are the top BSc agriculture colleges in India, offering the course to interested students. 

Name Of College	Location	Fees In INR
Chandigarh University	Chandigarh	1,44,000
Govind Ballabh Pant University Of Agriculture and Technology	Pantnagar	41,736
Bharath University	Chennai	1,25,000
Annamalai University	Chidambram	1,02,270
Shivaji University	Kolhapur	7,500
Junagadh Agricultural University	Junagadh	29,190
Orissa University Of Agriculture and Technology	Bhubaneswar	53,064

BSc Agriculture Admission Process in India 

The admission process to BSc Agriculture varies from one college to another. While in some colleges, admission is given on the basis of entrance exam, in other colleges students can take direct admission in the course. 

Entrance Exam Based Examination: To apply for the entrance examination conducted by universities, students must fill the application form and get themselves registered. Entrance examinations such as KCET 2023, KEAM 2023 give admission to students who qualify the exam, in BSc Agriculture colleges of Karnataka and Kerala.

For Direct Admission: Students can fill up the application form of the respective college before the deadline of the application. They will be granted admission if their aggregate marks in class 12th meet their qualifying criteria. 

Entrance Exams in India

Depending on the institution, the admission procedure differs for BSc in Agriculture. However, the general procedure consists of selection based on your merit followed by an interview. A few colleges also have entrance exams for their shortlisting procedure. The most common entrance exams are:

• BHU UET (Banaras Hindu University)
• AP EAMCET (Andhra Pradesh)
• SAAT ( Siksha Anusandhan)
• CG PAT (Chhattisgarh)
• OUAT (Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology)

BSc Agriculture Job Roles

Despite being the largest employer and contributor to the global economy, the Agriculture sector remains unskilled. With global warming and climate change, agricultural experts are now needed more than ever. Thus, this sector will continue to employ many with lucrative salaries even if other sectors face downsizing. On completing graduation, the BSc Agriculture students can either opt for higher studies by pursuing Masters in Agricultural sciences, Master in Sciences (MSc) in fields like biotechnology, Rural banking, International Agribusiness etc. or MBA in Agriculture. You can also start working as :

• Horticulturist
• Agronomist
• Research Scientist
• Soil Engineer
• Farm Manager
• Food Microbiologist
• Water Conservationist
• Business Development Manager
• Plant Geneticist
• Environmental Engineer
• Silvicultural Researcher
• Aquatic Ecologist
• Wildlife Forensics

BSc Agriculture Scope in India

Being a growing sector, agricultural study has a vast number of career opportunities for students. The government as well as the private organizations provide a good position along with a generous salary amount. The following companies are some of the top recruiters for students who have studied Bsc in Agriculture:

• National Agro Industries
• Rallies India Limited
• Advanta Limited
• Phalada Agro Research Foundation Limited
• Rasi Seeds
• ABT Industries
• DuPont India

With the research growing briskly in the scientific world, students can also use ample opportunities and apply for a research study in agriculture. The following are a few of the most renowned research institutes for agriculture in India:

• Indian Agricultural Research Institute
• National Seeds Corporation Limited
• State Farms Corporation of India
• Food Corporation of India
• National Dairy Development Board
• NABARD and other banks
• Agricultural finance corporations
• Indian Council of Agricultural Research

BSc Agriculture Salary

The salary packages differ for each role and position. However, an average annual salary for professionals who work in an agricultural sector ranges between INR 2 to 8 Lakhs.

FAQs

If you wish to pursue BSc Agriculture but are unable to decide on a university and are confused about the admission process, the experts at Leverage Edu can help you with your application process so that you can build a lucrative career in this field.