Agriculture courses are shaping India’s food security, farming innovations: OUAT VC

Pravat Kumar Roul

Agriculture and allied activities have been the primary source of livelihood for a majority of rural Indians. The economic, social and cultural practices of India are intertwined with the agricultural calendar, influencing day-to-day lives, festivals and traditions. Ancient India had a rich history of agricultural practices as described in the Upanishads and Vedas.

The need for higher agricultural education in India was realised by the then British administration during the late 19th century to support agricultural development and achieve economic goals of the country. The first significant step in this direction was the establishment of the Department of Agriculture in 1871.

Formal agricultural education in India has passed through several progressions, starting from traditional practices and elementary learning to transformation with incorporation of research and extension components. The first college of agriculture was established at Saidapet of Chennai in 1877, which initiated formalisation of agricultural education in the country. This college later became a part of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.

During 1905, Imperial Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) was established at Pusa in Bihar, which was a significant step towards organised agricultural education in India. Subsequently, Agricultural colleges were established in Kanpur and Pune during the early 1900s. However, all these institutions were primarily offering diploma courses with limited focus on research or extension aspects.

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ICAR and agriculture education

The higher agricultural education system of the country gained momentum after India became independent in 1947. The Imperial Council of Agricultural Research founded in 1929 was reorganised as Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) during 1947.

Thereafter, ICAR acted as the apex body to coordinate agricultural research and education across the country. The First Education Commission of independent India was constituted during 1949 and was headed by Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, who recommended setting up of rural universities in India as per the Land-Grant model of the United States.

Adoption of this model could strengthen and reorganize the agricultural education system by creating a strong framework of agricultural education, research and extension in independent India.

Key aspects of the land-grant model and its influence on Indian agricultural universities include:

• Emphasis on triple mandate of teaching, research and extension in higher agricultural education system

• Establishment of autonomous and residential Universities

• Multi-faculty structure with emphasis on agriculture and allied sciences like animal science, horticulture, fisheries, agricultural engineering, etc.

• Establishment of State Universities to cater to the local needs as per specific agro-climatic and socio-economic conditions.

• Funding support from both state and central governments, especially from ICAR.

India established State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) as per the land-grant model to reorient agricultural education and research suitable to respective states. GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology was the first agricultural university in India established in 1960 at Pantnagar in Uttarakhand following the land-grant model with assistance from the University of Illinois, USA.

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Later, Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana and Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar were established in 1962. At present there are 63 SAUs, four deemed-to-be universities and three central universities across the country offering higher education in agriculture and allied sciences. These universities being the partners of National Agricultural Research System (NARS) have made significant contributions for overall agricultural development of the country.

Agricultural universities and food revolutions

India has made tremendous progress in production of foodgrain to make the country self-sufficient. The revolution in production of oilseeds (Yellow Revolution), fish (Blue Revolution), fruits and vegetables (Golden Revolution), milk (White Revolution) and sugar and honey (Sweet Revolution) could have been achieved with continuous and combined efforts of these agricultural universities.

The ICAR is the core regulatory authority of agricultural education in India. However, the disciplines of Veterinary Science and Forestry are regulated by the Veterinary Council of India and India Council of Forestry Research & Education, respectively. ICAR being the apex body, monitors the agricultural education system with periodic evaluation by National Agricultural Education Accreditation Board (NAEAB) to ensure quality education and academic research.

The high academic standards of these systems are maintained through improvisation of the course curricula as well as method of teaching at regular intervals following the recommendations of ICAR-Deans Committees. Besides, the Deans' Committees of ICAR play a crucial role in shaping agricultural education in India from time to time by developing norms and standards to promote excellence in agricultural education.

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The Sixth Deans' Committee being the latest one was constituted in 2021. It has been instrumental in revising the undergraduate curriculum, course contents and degree nomenclature of undergraduate courses. The committee focuses on aligning agricultural education with international standards in accordance with National Education Policy-2020 of India. The key focus points of Sixth Deans' Committee recommendations include:

• Multiple entry and exit options with award of certificate, diploma and UG degree programme

• Curricula alignment with national initiatives like National Food Security Mission, Make-in-India and Skill India. 2.

• The academic programme has been restructured by incorporating entrepreneurship, encouraging students to become job creators rather than just job seekers.

• The committee ensures to create a skilled workforce in the agricultural sector to make the students industry ready.

In the recent past the higher agricultural education institutes have strengthened the teaching-learning environment by upgrading labs, providing e-learning facilities and setting up of smart classrooms. With funding support from ICAR faculty and students of many SAUs have gone for international training to acquire knowledge and skill in cutting edge technologies. Use of digital platforms like DigiLocker, SWAYAM, eNAM, and AgMOOCs for digital learning and outreach have been achieved.

Agriculture Courses: Interdisciplinary, innovative

The future thrust of agricultural education in India should focus on making it more innovative, interdisciplinary and aligned with emerging challenges and technologies. Some of the key thrust areas include:

• Adoption of interdisciplinary approach by integrating biotechnology, AI, Machine Learning, Climate Science, Data Analytics, IoT, Drones, GIS & Remote Sensing, etc. into agricultural education.
• Offer flexible, modular and skill-based courses aligned with NEP 2020.
• Promotion of digital agriculture and smart farming through hands-on learning.
• Encouraging students to participate in start-ups, innovation hubs and field-based research.
• Promotion of student-led innovations and projects addressing climate change and sustainable management of natural resources.
• Alignment of Indian agri-education with global standards and sustainability goals (SDGs).
• Restructure and empower State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) and ICAR institutes for better governance and industry linkage.
• Involving alumni, parents, educationists, policy makers and financers in institution building process

India’s agricultural education system must evolve to produce job creators, agri-innovators and agri-preneurs who can lead the country towards a sustainable and productive agricultural future.

Pravat Kumar Roul is the VC of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology and has previously served as managing director of the Agricultural Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha (APICOL).

This piece first appeared in the 200th issue of the Careers360 magazine, published in August 2025