They consist of various disciplines including veterinary, horticulture, sericulture, forestry, floriculture and a number of other sub-disciplines as plantation crops, medicinal herbs, mushroom, seed production, dairy production, agri-management and like. A number of Government department in India employ agricultural and allied graduates. The mode of recruitment is through respective State & Central Govt. public service commissions.
Beside professional employment, the agricultural graduates can compete in the national or State administrative or financial and allied services. Similarly many banks, insurance companies, private industries, private concerns and development companies. The NGO do also employ agricultural and allied graduates. The graduates have to go through employment new and other professional Journals through Radio, TV and both central and State Govts. also give advertisements. A vast number of professional, managerial and industry related advanced courses after agri or allied graduation are also advertised. They include business management, financial management or related disciplines in corporate sector. A diploma in mass media, computers or even commerce shall fetch a graduate additional employment chances in Govt. and private sectors. Opportunities in foreign countries for agri-graduates are also there, however this would need diploma in international agriculture and a driving licence besides a passport.
For graduates a number of courses are available for Masters. Even on date we have 1/3rd positions vacant in SAU and ICAR Institutes, for which annually ARS examination is being held by Agriculture Scientists Recruitment Board. The recruitment to scientists and Assistant professors is open to all M.Sc /M.V.Sc or allied post graduates and Ph.D holders. Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with NABARD and other banks have launched Agri-business Agri clinic courses. They are 3 months courses on the job training to Agri-graduates free of cost. In fact all the expenses are borne by the Agri-business school. A network of such training schools have been established. We have also a dozen in J&K. There is a strong future for agri-graduates in private sector. They can set up crop, fruit nurseries or open seed sale and production centres. We have a number of successful agri-graduates earning more than Rs. 20,000/- a month in various parts of the valley. The whole agricultural and allied sector has a strong employment generation potential. We have identified 15 such agri business ventures, which can be profitable employment ventures. A great potential of employment is hidden in Nursery plants for fruits and vegetables. An investment of Rs. 30,000/- per year may give a net profit of Rs. 2 lakh per annum.
Australia also provides many jobs like in Europe and USA for Indian Agri-graduates. The respective embassies or the internet employment advertise many help Agri graduates. For Australia information can be had on www.dookie. Uniemb.ed.am/. More personal information can be had on phone 0427355721 or email saparker@uniemeb.edu.an. Likewise many websites are available around the globe and in India too. New ventures financed by banks are Agri.biotechnologies and precision farming for organic Agriculture.
Agricultural development over years has been the result of continuous agri skill generation and its popularization. The earliest agriculture was animal domestication. Over thousands of years man domesticated wild fowl, dog, goat and smaller animals, whom he could overpower easily and subjugate to his sub-ordination. Agriculture thus since beginning has been the results of trails, experiments and experiences over years, learned first though behavioral changes, psychic reoccurrences, memories passed through parents to children and later on through doing and learning and now through sharing experiences and writing them or dotting them as an Entrepreneurship concern.
Entrepreneurship concept
The Entrepreneurship adds economic profits and cost-benefit ratios to Agricultural Output. Entrepreneurship is dominated by four factors like:
a. Social changes
b. Support system availability
c. Resource base and its utilization
d. Self confidence, exploration work capacity and intellectual potency.
An entrepreneur has to have a thinking of his own, a capacity building interest in acquiring needed technique. An explorative and analytic faculties to judge the way of procuring cheap raw material. He must be equipped with “knowledge” and mindset to use and benefit out of it.
Farm Business
A potential entrepreneurship must strive from getting maximum output. Decades back agricultural development and industrial setups was a public sponsored and heavily subsidized but over time “knowledge” explosion in Indian Agriculture, have brought us on threshold of a system, where wide distances exist between industry and farm business. Where huge subsidies are benefiting Agro-Industrialists. The Farmers who use fertilizers or agro-chemical are crushed under economic pressures. The gaps between technology generated and technology use at farmers door is increasing day after day. The farm technology adoption rates are not more than 20-30% by any higher prospective.
The use of information and communication technology (I&CT) for reducing the gaps and increasing productivity is the need of the hour (Wani, 2005). The modern technology and knowledge flow is fast expanding and bringing change. It demands more educated and trained farmers. Our education system has produced more literates but not educationally trained youth to earn their own bread. They after attaining graduation in agriculture and allied sectors, beg for job. The system has to be corrected to make these graduates as employers and not employees. I wrote a treatise in 1992, emphasizing a system where our agriculture graduates should be employers not employees. Germans are smart to have Farmers school, Farmer business training institutes, practical agri-farmers training centres and like, where every farmer or animal husbandry man is essentially a trained fellow. The banking system is so organized that they are on the door of convocation hall to sell their agri-business and agri-clinics packages to graduates, without any investments. Banks are so smart, that they have surveyed the villages who need vets or agri-graduates or have attained land and all facilitation, so that agricultural or veterinary or even other medico-biological graduates are used as bank investment. This is what is envisaged in India under agri-clinic, Agribusiness venture. We have trainings not in the hands of banks but with universities. There is practically little interaction between universities or banks or employers.
Success of Agribusiness:
A poor liaison and support system between Govt. banking and University culture has made this otherwise an remunerative and lucerative programmes into a failure inspite of its personal monitoring by PMO. We visited Bandipora district and unregistered Agriclinic graduates were earning a handsome salary, more than the Rahbar-e-zerat or Agriculture Asstt. Agribusiness viz sale of pesticides, cattle feed, poultry feed and agri-extension services were common. At a small village in Papchan, one agri graduate Mr. Iqbal Shah earns Rs. 10,000/- per month by selling the services and input. At a distance of few kms in the same district one Mr. Khyatlani owns a big poultry farm and earns around Rs. 20,000/- per month. Both these entrepreneurs employ 2-3 persons at present. Similarly, the success shown by one Mr. Shah at Malangam in Agri products and pesticide sale and one Mr. Bhat in Dairy production and milk product sale earn a handsome income besides generating employment for poor. All these agricultural graduates have started their own business concerns without any bank or university help.
Farmer as Entrepreneur
Indian Farming and farmer has to change if proper WTO recommendation and GATT agreements are to be followed. The present day poultry scenario is emerging as high profile agri-business in India. The conversion of poultry farmer’s into poultry entrepreneurs shall make the present day 6% contribution of poultry products from India and China to 25% share of Global market. This when translated into action shall increase employment generation by manifolds. The introduction of rural based Vanraja, Gramapriya, Giriraja, Cari Gold and vast other locally grown varieties of poultry have adopted well to our agri-rural base. The market acceptability is higher than exotic poultry concerns. Free-rang-poultry is like BT cotton hybrid spreading through villages of India and assuring high returns and exports (wani, 2007).
Poultry as Agri-business
Dr. Gordon Butland, president of Global poultry strategies presents “Backyard poultry production” as a tool of alleviating poverty and malnutrition. We have tried to distribute “birds” under free-range system in all our KVK’s, our results were excellent and income generation was totally in favour of the Agri-business and agri-clinics.
This all will need the involvement of Agri-Veterinary and food processing technocrats to develop rural-based establishments so as to foster export and fast returns.
Holistic Vision for Livestock Enterprise
Improving income, employment and self-reliance among educated graduates and un-employed youth especially women needs fostering community development, women empowerment, environmental protection. Rural-based backyard poultry subscribes to all these norms and could be a rich resource for developing agri-entrepreneurship. Govt. of India is liberally financing such agri-business ventures. Some of the success stories in animal husbandry section can be reproduced as follows:
Backyard poultry and incubation
Though the Vanraja are the most suitable for back yard poultry, they do not have habit of broodiness. There is a problem among the farmer to get a broody hen in all season. KVK solve this problem of hatching by installing small unit of hatchery. Every month 15-20 farmers are benefited by purchasing chicks for backyard poultry. There are 200 back yard poultry units of Vanraja. Each farmer is rearing 10 to 25 in the backyard. There is a good demand and response for the chicks and eggs of Vanraja. KVKs are now planning to expand this entrepreneurship by Agri-graduates .
Semi-stall-fed Goat Rearing
KVK’s made an intervention to improve this enterprise by conducting short duration training programmes for rural youth. Similarly exposure visit were organized on goat feed, breed and health management. More emphasis was given on Osmanabadi goat and up-gradation in selected non-descript goat breed by osmanabadi pure buck and given the knowledge about semi stallfed goat rearing concept. This experience in Andra Pradesh shows a great potential for agri-graduates own business.
Broiler Production
A KVK has conducted training programmes for 165 trainees. Due to training and demonstrations awareness was increased about contract farming in broiler production with private sector which provide chicks, feed and medicine and after 40 days purchases them back. They acquired skills through learning by doing at KVK demonstration unit and earned money. The technology has been adopted by 10 percent of youths now in the radius of 20 km. There are 27 poultry units having capacity of 5000-10000 poultry birds on contract farming basis. These self employed rural youth earning Rs 10000-15000 per lot.
A seminar-cum-farmer’s meet was arranged at SKUAST-K on 26- 27th of Oct.2007. The knowledge –sharing with farmers by agricultural graduates and scientists was emphasized by His Excellency the Chancellor and Governor of J&K. A vision of poverty alleviation through backyard poultry intervention was the theme of the seminar. Many belts in Gurez, Tangdar, Tillail and Zanskar are rearing native livestock species. They are better suited and need improvement and identification. The cooking methods will need more expansion and scientific intervention for export. More emphasis has to be made on:
· Safe feed and food.
· Organic fodder and food.
· Operational excellence and modern mechanization to improve quality of indigenous enterprises.
· Local family management to farm business management and seller-buyer mode adoption.
This will need graduate farmers who are trained. Thus future farmer has to be a farmer graduate as in USA, Germany etc.
High Value Agri-business
Rapid growth rate in high value commodities in Indian agriculture promises 40% total output. The sectors assuming importance for export earnings are Fruits, milk, vegetable and poultry. Thus Agriclinic training centres should focus on these commodity oriented trainings. The sector may need more than 1 lac young agri-graduate entrepreneurs to achieve national goals and not the mere 14000 un-employed agriculture graduates.
Technological Prospective
The technological gaps between research yields and Farmers yields are wide. The technological know how over years is on shelf. Much of it has remained frozen if not dead within the fore walls of institutions. The location specific, crop and soil specific innovations to farmer’s practices are few. Our integrated & mixed farming practiced by our farmer’s, needs packages recommending mixed farming improvements which is not forth coming. Our research institutes mostly aped the experimentations on commercial farming of west with few modifications and even additions at times. Our traditional agriculture existing still in remote areas encompass the use of farm yard manure, vormiculture & use of agricultural waste materials. The present problems of low soil fertility, reduction in yields and soil salinity have arisen due to excessive use of chemical inputs in farming with little care of the soil.
This scenario resulted due to incomplete innovative approaches of research. Our researchers blindly advocated more and more use of fertilizers, pesticides and fungicides, which helped to gain grain revolutions, but left legacy of polluted water, air & environment with degraded soils. These revolutions debarred future sustenance. This was due to poor perception.
Thus immediate need is to make researchers akin with information technology and advanced communication. The rapid evolution of information science demands quick and speedy transfer of technologies, awareness & even subject reviews to farmer’s for speedy application. The productivity would be better if technological advances are adopted and their impact is known. The knowledge of computer hardware, software as well interlinking the information dissemination channels and outlets is essential. This will consume hundreds of Agri-graduates in mass media, information and communication.
Our vision
Mixed Farm University Culture:
Higher productivity gains can be achieved through application of technology and production recommendations at farmer’s fields. We have 65% small and marginal farmers whose awareness potential is low. The production system prevailing with these farmers is a mixed farming or composite farming. In contrast to USA and European agriculture our necessity is to increase “Crop –livestock-fish-plant integrated production system with multiple livelihood opportunities”. Therefore, we need our own innovative educational and training policies. A mixed agriculture University and Education set ups is our necessity. We are at present going astray to our need. Quick and fast measures and needed to unify our educational system, involving all agriculture and allied disciplines, industries, corporate sectors and farmers institution.
Higher productivity Concerns:
Indian Agricultural pride years of green revolution post 1968 saw reduction in food gain imports and subsequently white, blue and other revolutions sustained our population pressures and agriculture growth. Our agricultural growth rate (AGR) need to be equal if not more to population growth rate (PGR). Our AGR target ought to be double the PGR.
This is important as consumption rates, purchasing power and employment prospects increase. An estimated food grain of 210 million tons at present may need to be doubled in next 10 years. We have to achieve high targets of productivity by vertical expansion as horizontal land expansion is just not possible. Dr. M.S. Swaminathan has quoted figures as of 160 million tones of rice from 40m hac of land, thereby setting the productivity target of 4 t/h. Like wise production of 100 million tones of wheat from 25 million tones of wheat from 25 million hectors needs a productivity of 4t/hac. Our aim to double our per hac productivity needs more technical manpower in extension, industry and at gross root level.
The climatic disasters, earthquakes, Titanic tsunami, floods; have effected our agricultural production in the past and additional requirements needs to be kept in mind while planning food security. We need to increase per capita consumption expenditures of Rs.600 per month. We need to bridge the gaps between potential and actual yields at farmers level. The chemical farming hazards of poor soil fertility, low water availability, pollution and environmental concerns impede our agricultural development. Thus refined technology, participatory research and educational modules are needed. The new pressures of Global marketing. World trade and tariff regulations have to be accommodated. This all will need incorporation of new themes like post-harvest management, value addition, packaging, communication, credit and market information services in our course curricula. Thus a new multidimensional change in academic curriculum is envisaged, which may open new opportunities for Agricultural and allied graduates.
Quality Assurance
We feel pride in calling ourselves as the 2nd largest Agricultural Research system (ARS) in World. When we review our performance we are no where in top ten of most cited agriculture publications countries in the World. USA tops the world list with 3,62,79,842 cited publication/annum, with small country like Switzerland at No.10. The scientific out put in agriculture is highest in USA with 27 lac publication/year followed by Japan, Germany, U.K, France, Canada, Italy, Russia, China and Australia. Our contribution to Agriculture publication is 5.48% only with our share of citation at 2.32%. This demands more focus on Quality Assurance. Our prime agenda should be quality Agriultural Education. Our emphasis has to be on:
Academic quality, Accreditation; Desired knowledge, Assessment, Skill and competence building and academic audit. Quality assurance, means strengthening resources, information and maintenance of educational infrastructure. Thus we need to regulate grants and centre-state relations rationally. This will open golden opportunities to our graduate across the borders.
Employment opportunities
We have 36 state/deemed or central agricultural Universities and 20 general universalities with 48 agricultural faculties. The total disciplines needing grants may be strengthened in 5 yrs by 1 core grants to each discipline for quality assurance. We produce 10,000 under graduate 5500 post graduates and 1600 Ph.D in agriculture every years . They add to our unemployed pool. For making them self employees in new ventures and for increased employment , their competence building in Global economics and trade policies. Biotechnology, Bioinformation, Biofertilizers, pesticides and fungicides etc are to be enhanced. New faculty development in all the Universities and colleges is to be executed in coming 5 years. Such as :
Pest information and survey; Risk Management Analysis; Decision support system; Geographic information system. A new trust is to be given to course curriculum integrating field practices in a partnership mode with farmer. A teacher-student-farmer-industry, interaction and co-operation is to be developed. A new model of mechanics in Agricultural and allied curricula is to be integrated, unified and fine tuned to end results. This will demand inter and intra faculty harmony and synchronized course curricula at UG, PG and Ph.D level. This has to be fine tuned to our field requirements and location orientations and Employment opportunities will be the end result.
Asia Specific Agricultural Education:
Indian Economy is a agri-centre economy which supports 70% of our population, as direct rural employment . Forty five percent of the income generated by industries comes from Agri-based (Agro) Industries. Therefore , a vast potential and resource is hidden in it. If we think of Asia specific Agriculture, we have to play a significant role in the region which has 60% of the world population. The region is rich of energy and oil resources and millennium buzz word is open boarders and common market with first priority on peace, confidence and trust. For up-liftmen of region we need training education and human resource utilization. Therefore Agriculture educational reforms are on our door steps to harvest the gains of common economy in the SARC and total Asian region. These educational reforms should involve schools, colleges and Universities. The re-modeling of curriculum will need incorporation of new emerging era, like competitive global marketing, the climatic, disaster, technology use, restrictions, sustainability, environment, water resource conservation, remediation factors etc.
Agri-educational reforms are needed so that ICAR parallels USDA, in governing grant-in aid to whole agriculture sector. An omnibuss act of agriculture in the shape of USA farm bill of 1996 is envisioned. New educational policies so drafted shall be non-discriminative, comprehensive , transparent and accountable. They will pave a way to total employment in Asia for Agri and allied graduates.
Access to Education and Training:
Access to education and training to people below the poverty line, rural youth and women is to be ensured. This will need a total restructured education infrastructure. A three tyre model is envisioned which consists of:
1. On the job, training opportunities on farm mechanization and agriculture.
2. Training skills, up-gradation and rural orientation at University level, refinement and more innovative participatory mode at farmers field. Roaming teaching taught system on holidays and Sundays.
3. Teacher-student-farmer-industry-interaction-work and planed-self- learning by living with farmers. It will ensure quality training and job improvement of skilled manpower for use in Asian Agri development Market. The utilization of Rehbar-e-Zerat in this paid Agri-services to farmers shall provide them job and money.
Informal-flexible Agriculture Information Services
A flexible curriculum models which should have many options at B.Sc level like:
1. Natural science
2. Agri Science
- Production system
- Agri-business
- Social science
3. International Agriculture
4. Natural Resources
5. Agri-business management
6. Biological engineering
7. Dietetrics
8. Landscape Architecture
These inclusions at B.Sc or Post graduate level shall help in graduate employment.
Export Orientation in Agri-education & employment:
In the present era of bio-safety, phyto and zoo sanitation have assumed tremendous importance. Education and knowledge was safe and secure treasure in the past. It is no more true. The export needs knowledge and new inventions need patenting. Web and web designing have made invisible teachers to unknown students. The students-teacher relationship has raised to spiritual horizons. New targets for future educational planning and policies need to have more information and communication technology. Therefore courses on I&C with computer applications is must. These have been strengthened in the SAU and ICAR institutions in the last few years. However a total connectivity is needed with farmers, farm organizations and utilization departments to harvest the gains of technological reforms to increase our exports. Inspite of ranking I in milk production our exports are meager. This is because of poor –zoo-sanitation and Global lobiest are critical of our disease free status. Therefore, policies and programmes in Agri-export orientation and the training to our agri-vet. And allied graduates is a must. Training of these graduates in management, mass media, export-import ventures, industry and related agrobased ventures like sales of fertilizers, pesticides, seeds etc is needed.
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