Page 15 - Mousumi: Unbelievable Transformation

they can be employed in the banks as Agriculture Officer (A.O). As the
nationalized or private banks provide agricultural loans to the farmers,
agricultural graduates are required for ease of doing loan related formalities.
Banks also run Kisan Credit Scheme (KCS) and credit cards are provided in the
form of Kisan Credit Card (KCC) and A.Os. are needed to understand the
intricacies of the matter. State governments also give employment to the
agriculture graduates, and they may be employed as Agriculture Development
Officer (ADO) or Block Development Officer (BDO) at the block level and
Chief Agriculture Officer (CAO) or District Agriculture Officer (DAO) at the
district level. Additionally, they may also be hired by agriculture-based pesticide
companies as marketing officers. If the students want to go for research work,
they have to pursue higher degrees like Masters, PhD and PDFs (Post Doctoral
Fellow). After that, they may be employed by the universities as scientists,
professors, extension workers, researchers or seed production specialists.
Agricultural based Multi-National Companies (MNCs) like Monsanto, Du Pont,
Bayer, and Cargill also hire them for carrying out research and development
(R&D) work. City corporations, municipalities and realtors also employ
agricultural graduates or horticultural graduates, and they also get appointed as
Horticulture Development Officer or Landscape Development Officer for
enhancing the aesthetic value of the cities. Other employment opportunities
include Subject matter Specialist (SMS) in Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK),
Extension Officer, Field Officer, Farm Manager, Plantation Manager, Research
Officer, Officer in Quality Assurance in related fields, Production Manager,
Operation Manager, Manager in Fertilizer Units, Business Development
Manager, Seed Technology Officer, Agri-Preneur and Food Processing Officer,
Like any other graduation discipline B.Sc. Agriculture graduates are also eligible
for UPSC and State Public Service Commission based exams.

As far as my personal experience is concerned, I have worked in different
capacities. After finishing my M.Sc. degree, I worked as a farm manager on a
private farm. After that, I worked as a landscape engineer in Saudi Arabia for
three years. I came back to India and joined Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) as a
Subject Matter Specialist for seven years. Currently, I am working as an Assistant
Professor in a government agricultural university. I am involved in seed
production of different crops at the university seed farms, provide the quality
and pure seeds to the farmers, who are the real food growers of our country.
Degree in agriculture or allied subject can be obtained from college,
university, or institute spread across the country. There are three Central
Agricultural Universities (CAUs), four deemed agricultural, dairy, veterinary and
fishery universities and sixty-four state agricultural universities (SAUs) in India.
There is an apex, and autonomous body at the centre which monitors
agricultural research and education in India and its name is Indian Council of
Agricultural Research (ICAR). It is headquartered at New Delhi on the pattern

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