Anna University, Chennai offers a traditional course to
revive our culture and ancient technologies and best practices to uplift the
backbone of Indian economy in name of Agricultural and Irrigation Engineering.
Yes, we are not joking. One such course actually exists in Anna university
curriculum and how many of us are aware of it? Also how many parents would
actually motivate their children to pursue this course to bring modern
technologies into Agriculture? It is indeed a doubt. Now it is an IT era, where
sons and daughters of farmers sell their agricultural land to get into some
corporate and this speaks volumes about the sorry state of Agriculture in
modern India.
With majority of students aspiring for a career in core
engineering or IT sector that can pay a hefty sum of pay upfront other less
popular streams of engineering such as Agricultural Engineering lie on their
shadow. But now students have started to realize that opportunities are not
concentrated on a single field and have started exploring lesser known fields
as well. So what can we gain by choosing Agricultural Engineer as a profession?
The opportunities seem endless as there is not only demand for good
Agricultural and Irrigation Engineers but you can also get a sense of
satisfaction as you are uplifting an important industry for boosting our nation’s
economy. Also we all know that above all, food is essential commodity for our
daily life and providing best in class agricultural and irrigation practices is
actually a service to the entire human kind itself!
Subjects
covered in Agricultural & Irrigational Engineering course:
·
Land measurement
·
Raw materials for crop production
·
Land Resource Science
·
Water Resources
·
Food technology
·
Environmental Science
·
Agricultural Equipment design
·
Remote Sensing
·
Water Irrigation drafting
·
Milk farms and Food Engineering
·
Tractor and other Farm equipments
·
CAD for Agriculture
·
Methods to preserve land fertility and save
water
An exclusive agricultural
university first of its kind was established in Coimbatore which provides 8
different B.E/ B.Tech courses in these disciplines. The university boasts of a
world class infrastructure and coaching staff and is an ideal destination for
students seeking admission in Agricultural and Irrigation Engineering.
Job
Roles for Agricultural Engineers:
The following are the
various positions for which qualified personnels from Agricultural and
Irrigational department are hired for:
·
Agricultural Equipment Sales Manager
·
Medical Coder
·
Transcriptionist
·
Quality controller
·
Agricultural Products Collection Manager
·
Food Controller
·
Bank agricultural Loan Manager
·
Agricultural Officer
History
& Evolution of Agricultural Engineering:
Agriculture is the science
of arts and occupation of cultivating the soil, producing crops and rearing of
animals to provide food, wool and other products. Hence it becomes part and
parcel of our life as our lives depend on the agricultural food to live. Earlier,
farmers were using primitive methods in cultivation, irrigation and farming,
but these methods have not yielded fruitful results. Then our government decided
to invest on expert knowledge and latest technologies in order to improve the
productivity of this industry. And that is when a stream called Agricultural
Engineering came into existence.
Agricultural engineering is
the branch of engineering that applies engineering science and technology methodologies
to the efficient processing and production of food, fiber, fuels and feed. This
course is made by merging the principles of plant biology, animal biology,
civil, mechanical, electrical engineering and chemical engineering.
Scope
of Agricultural Engineering:
Agriculture Engineering is a
technologically sophisticated field that offers bright career prospects and
opportunities in various sectors across the globe. Agricultural Professionals are warmly welcomed
in various industries and their reputation grows higher if they do post
graduation as well in the same discipline. A few of the courses that B.Tech
graduates can pursue after their under graduation are as follows:
·
M.Tech in Agricultural Engineering
·
M.Tech in Farm Machinery and Power
Engineering
·
M.Tech in Renewable Energy
·
M.Tech in Crop Production
·
M.Sc in Rural Technology
·
PhD in Agro-Informatics
·
PhD in Rural Technology
Well-paid careers are
available for qualified agricultural engineers in PSUs, central and state
government run organisations, agro business firms, research organizations and
laboratories, food processing and retail industry, banks and financial
corporations and private firms. Agricultural Engineers have bright career prospects.
These graduates are even hired by NC Department of Agriculture and NC
Department of Transportation.
Job
Roles Agricultural Engineers:
A) Agricultural
Engineer
B) Agricultural
Crop Engineer
C) Agricultural
Inspector
D) Agricultural
Specialist
E) Farm
Shop Manager
F)Researcher Environmental
G) Controls
Engineer
H) Food
Supervisor
I)
Plant Physiologist
J) Agronomist
Microbiologist
K) Soil
Scientist
L) Survey
Research Agricultural Engineer
Target
companies for fresh Agricultural & Irrigation Engineers:
A few of the top notch
Industries and corporate who hire these professionals include:
i) Farming
Industry Consultants
ii) Agricultural Commodities Processors
iii) AMUL
Dairy
iv) ITC Escorts
v) Nestle
India
vi) Proagro Seed
vii) PRADAN
viii)Frigorifico
Allana
Pay
Scale for Agricultural & Irrigation Engineers:
In the government organizations, salary of a
fresher will be somewhere between Rs 20,000/- to Rs 25,000/- per month depending
on the candidate’s capability and efficiency. However in private organizations,
big MNC's and reputed NGO's, an agriculture engineer is well paid in par with
other industry professionals. You can also become a lecturer in an Agricultural
University where you will get a decent starting pay of Rs 15000/- per month along
with other allowances.
Top
Colleges / Universities in India for Agricultural Engineering:
1) Indian
Agricultural Research Institute
2) New
Delhi Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
3) Coimbatore
Punjab Agricultural University
4) Ludhiana
National Dairy Research Institute
5) Karnal
Chaudary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar
Best
abroad Colleges / Universities for Agricultural Engineering:
1) University
of Southern Queensland, Australia
2) Tennessee
Tech University, USA
3) Iowa
State University, USA
4) University
of Kentucky
5) University
of Arizona
Hope this article would have ignited your minds and motivated you enough to take up to Agricultural Engineering as a prospective career if not Agriculture as your
profession. All candidates who have completed their mandatory education (i.e.,
Class 12th) or diploma examination can take up this course. So let
us pledge to revive our Agriculture industry by becoming successful
Agricultural and Irrigation Engineers…