Just 30% agriculture university graduates get jobs; campus placements ‘in name only’, say BSc students

Agriculture Jobs: When Deepak Sharma* completed his BSc (Horticulture) from Banda University of Agriculture and Technology in Uttar Pradesh two years ago, an uncertain future lay ahead of him. Barely 10% out of 260-odd graduates in his batch had managed to secure jobs at campus placements; the majority of them picked by an insurance firm for an annual package of Rs 3.5 lakh (cost to company). While he did find employment with a private firm, he remains far from satisfied and continues to chase the ever-elusive government-sector job.

To make matters worse, Sharma realised that his specialisation disqualified him from certain opportunities available to his BSc (Agriculture) peers. “BSc (Horticulture) was a mixed programme, which had much in common with the agriculture programme. In some instances, it’s considered equivalent to the latter, but makes me ineligible for other opportunities,” he said, adding, “Campus placements are in name only.”

Sharma’s experience is similar to that of the thousands of other youngsters stepping out of agriculture colleges and universities every year. Despite the ‘professional’ label, agricultural education doesn’t automatically translate to job opportunities. The on-campus recruitment by private employers remains low, even at the top institutes in the country. While the placement rate has improved to some extent over the past few years, the vast majority either don’t make the cut or prefer waiting and competing for the limited government positions.

This was made evident in the information gathered by the union education ministry for the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2025, the latest edition of the annual rankings of higher education institutes across the country. An analysis of some of the top universities in the ‘agriculture and allied sector’ list shows that the proportion of undergraduate (UG) students finding jobs on campus in the academic year 2023-24 ranged from a mere 15% to one-third.

The GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology (Pantnagar University) in Uttarakhand was the only outlier, having registered 64% placements.

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Agriculture Jobs: Placement trends over 5 years

While the placement figures remain fluctuating, the trendlines for most institutes are moving in an upward direction. One of the institutes that witnessed a steady growth in campus hirings is Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agriculture University in Bihar’s Samastipur, where the graduate recruitment rate climbed up from barely 4% in 2019-20 to 29% in 2023-24. On the other hand, two institutes with strong placement records – Pantnagar University and Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K), Srinagar – recorded fewer accepted offers than their previous peaks.

Percentage of graduates placed on campus (UG) over 5 years

At 15%, the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) had one of the lowest hiring rates among top institutes in 2023-24. The central varsity’s placements hovered between 5% and 19% in the last five years, except for in 2022-23, when it saw a 61% spike.

However, BHU’s low placements could be a result of better acceptance of its graduates in public sector organisations. “Compared to other sectors, there is less competition in government. In any case, very few students aspire for private jobs,” said Shivam Mishra, who completed his master’s from BHU in 2022 and is currently working with the National Seeds Corporation.

Jeetendra Singh, a graduate from Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, says, “Those from BHU and other central universities have no dearth of employment opportunities. It’s the graduates from smaller institutes that face the challenge.”

For agri graduates aiming for government employment, the improved placement figures are hardly good news. “If more students are taking up private jobs out of helplessness, it simply means that there aren’t enough public ones,” said Ashutosh Tripathi, national general secretary of the National Agricultural Students Organization (NASO), who trains graduates for various competitive exams.

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After BSc Agriculture: Uptick in higher education numbers

A clearer indication of the dire straits in the agricultural job market is the marked increase in the number of graduates who reported pursuing higher education after the four-year degree course. The NIRF data show that, in most of the top agri institutes, as many as two-thirds to three-quarters of the graduates opt for higher education. BHU is among the highest, with 82% of its degree holders opting to continue their education.

The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore, recorded one of the lowest proportions of higher education pursuants – 49% – despite graduating one of the highest numbers of graduates – 1,381 – in 2023-24. However, the institute is also witness to one of the sharpest rises in this barometer, with the number of graduates shown to study further more than doubling from 312 in 2022-23 to 672 in the next academic year.

Percentage of graduates pursuing higher education (UG)

Agriculture graduates explain that their enrolment in master’s programmes is less about pursuing a specialisation, but rather a way to stay engaged and open up research opportunities, while they continue to try for government jobs.

“After graduation, most of the students prepare for government posts, such as Agriculture Field Officer (AFO) at banks. Simultaneously, they also pursue higher studies,” a graduate said.

Agriculture Jobs: Placements at PG level

While the placement scenario at the postgraduation (PG) level is comparatively better, many continue their education to receive research fellowships meant for doctoral candidates. At the topmost institutes, campus hirings ranged from 11% (Indian Institute of Agricultural Research, New Delhi) to 79% (Pantnagar University) in 2023-24.

There’s a notable decline in campus placements at the top three agri universities, namely IARI, National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal and Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, compared to 2019-20. The Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Izatnagar, Bareilly, too saw a steep drop in 2023-24 relative to the two previous years.

Percentage of graduates placed on campus (PG) over 5 years

In the same vein, most of the high-ranked institutes also saw more master’s degree holders marked for higher education. There are some exceptions, though, like Choudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (CCSHAU), Hisar and Pantnagar University, which recorded their lowest share of higher education pursuants in five years.

Percentage of graduates pursuing higher education (PG)

According to Tripathi, the job pool has significantly shrunk in the last decade or so due to the consistent growth in the number of agriculture graduates.

Agriculture Courses: Enrolment doubles

While there’s no consolidated national data of graduates available, the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) reports, prepared by the education ministry, indicate that enrolment to all three levels of agriculture education has more than doubled from 2012-13 to 2021-22.

“As there were fewer graduates earlier, they wouldn’t even consider private jobs. Everyone would be after the abundant government ones. However, nowadays, only a few hundred agriculture-related vacancies are advertised in four to five years. They are far from matching the graduate supply level. Meanwhile, the private companies hire graduates for barely Rs 15,000- Rs 16,000 for sales-related profiles and discard them when they don’t achieve targets,” said Tripathi.

Enrolment in agriculture courses

Source: AISHE reports

However, Sahadeva Singh, dean, school of agriculture, Galgotias University, Greater Noida, believes that the lack of industry linkages and poor skill training at agriculture institutes is to be blamed for underwhelming placements.

Also read ICAR ex-deputy DG: India’s agricultural universities need urgent overhaul

“The agriculture curriculum offers practical exposure to students through the Rural Agricultural Work Experience (RAWE) course. But most of the students prefer preparing for research fellowships and AFO posts and only spend a few months learning agricultural work. With RAWE moved from the seventh to the eighth semester [in the new curriculum introduced by ICAR’s Sixth Deans’ Committee], the course will hopefully get its due,” he said.

Singh also points out that while entry-level salaries in the agriculture sector are low, there are opportunities for growth after some experience. “The graduates do need o spend initial years in the field to learn about the agriculture business, supply chain and needs of the farmers. There are thousands of vacancies available in companies, provided students have the skills,” he said.

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