Only 29 percent agriculture grads found jobs during campus placements in 2023-24
Desire for higher studies, limited industry-academia connection and students inability to apply theoretical knowledge in jobs are cited as the main reasons
By Divyansh Kumar
timesofindia.com
Despite a booming agricultural sector and a surge in student enrolment, India’s top agricultural colleges are grappling with dismal campus placement at the UG level. NIRF data shows roughly 42 percent of students at top agricultural institutes got jobs in 2022-23, down after touching the 50 percent mark a year before that. Meanwhile, the HEI response reveals a rising enrolment in agriculture courses, from 1.13 lakh (2012-13) to 2.94 lakh (2021-22). The issue is not a lack of jobs, but a disconnect between academia and industry, ill-equipped faculty, and the low-paying nature of entry-level jobs.
The primary reason for this gap, according to experts, is the significant focus on the science and a lack of practical, industry-relevant skills among graduates. “Faculty-centric courses and syllabi significantly undermine placement readiness in agricultural education,” says RC Agarwal, former deputy director general, Agriculture Education, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). “Faculty members at several universities lack specialisation in emerging areas such as precision-agriculture tools (drones, GIS, IoT), are weak in agri-data analytics and fail to impart soft skills and entrepreneurship training among students. This academic disconnect leads to a skills mismatch, with employers constantly reporting that graduates are unprepared for modern workplaces,” he adds. While ICAR has modernised the UG curriculum in 2024, universities must keep pace with rapidly changing agri-tech demands.
“ICAR continues to revise and restructure its UG education curriculum as per 2020 draft of NEP 2020 and directions through its 6th Deans Committee 2023-24 playing a crucial role in updating UG education in agriculture,” says Agarwal, underlining the lack of training on modern tech tools, inadequate data analytics, and soft skills among students still hurt from their employability. Practical training components exist in colleges, but outcomes are not well defined. “Mandatory hands-on training and the Rural Agricultural Work Experience (RAWE) are part of most UG programmes, however, most internships do not convert into jobs, and many students opt out from industry exposure, but many students secure jobs directly through their contacts or by targeted discipline-specific search,” says SV Suresha, vice chancellor, University of Agriculture Sciences, Bengaluru. “There is a gap in campus placement opportunities as it does not capture all employment routes. Campus placement rates understate the employment outcomes because many students secure jobs directly outside their contacts or by targeted discipline-specific search. Placement is for students of agricultural sciences. Placers list is also not exhaustive or updated,” he adds.
Students opting for specialisation required by the R and D-driven agri firms “Formal campus recruitment in BSc Agriculture, BSc Food Science, BSc Horticulture, BSc Forestry, etc. remains as low as roughly 65-70 percent as students pursue higher studies. Around 5-10 percent students prepare for competitive exams like SO, NABARD, UPSC, and the remaining students look for jobs. Hence, getting a job through university placement is not a priority for many students,” adds Suresha.
Opting for a PG course is also fuelled by a desire for better pay and specialised career roles. “Most UG students are offered a starting salary of Rs 15,000 to Rs 18,000 in the private sector. PG students are offered entry-level get better packages ranging from Rs 5-6 lakh per year,” adds Behl. “Industry-relevant short courses on precision agriculture, AI for farming, value chain management and agribusiness finance, plus incubation support for student-led startups, can help such job creators as well as job seekers to stand better informed,” mentions Behl, citing that ICAR has published placement trace data and NAHEP ICAR based online placement datasets are being used by policymakers to track if curricular revisions translate into livelihood gains,” Agarwal adds.
POSTED BY : EDUCATION TIMES
DATE : 06/10/2025
.png)
