MSc Agriculture – Eligibility, Fees, Colleges, Jobs, Salary

MSc Agriculture is one of the best courses that agriculture graduates can pursue to further enhance their career.

Food security is vital for the survival of humanity and agriculture scientists ensure nutritious food grains are available for consumption.

MSc Agriculture Eligibility

Candidates should have passed B.Sc. (Agriculture)/ B.Sc. (Horticulture) from a recognized university with min 55% marks.

Agriculture contributes 18% to India’s GDP and provides primary employment to majority of population in rural areas.

Therefore, a MSc in Agriculture is job oriented and can provide a stable career, provided the student has the requisite skills for the job.

The government’s firm support for food processing industries will increase the demand for MSc agriculture graduates.

These PGs have the expertise to enhance agriculture production so vital for the most populous country in the world. MSc Agriculture offers various specializations like –

· Agronomy

· Horticulture

· Soil Science

· Plant Pathology

· Agricultural Economics

Some key areas for study in agronomy are:

In agronomy, students study soil composition, structure, fertility and ways to manage it for optimal crop growth.

Plant Physiology deals with the various growth & developmental states of a plant growth & strategies to improve plant health.

Crop Genetics & Breeding They work to develop climate resistant and disease resistant crop varieties.

Crop rotation–planning crops in a manner that they give good yield while also maintaining soil fertility.

Weed Control- developing techniques to control weeds so that crop production increases.

Pest Management- Developing strategies to control pests resulting in better production.

Irrigation Management- Using most efficient water management techniques that reduce wastage and improve production.

Precision Agriculture- Using GPS techniques & sensors to identify problem areas in a farm and provide inputs to boost production.

Students specializing in Horticulture study about Plant Physiology and taxonomy, plant propagation techniques through cuttings, grafting & seed germination.

They study soil science, plant pathology, entomology, greenhouse management, landscaping, ornamental horticulture & food production & management. Horticulture also focuses on vegetable cultivation and develops sustainable horticulture practices.

Soil Science

Under soil science, a student studies about the chemical, physical & biological properties of soil, its texture and how to improve soil health for optimal yield.

Under plant pathology in MSC agriculture, a student studies about the occurrences of pathogens that affect crops and devise methods to neutralize them.

Agricultural economics deals with optimizing inputs to reduce the cost of production and getting a reasonably high output that offsets the cost. Further finding suitable markets for the produce so that the farmer is well compensated for the produce.

MSc Agriculture Duration

MSc agriculture is a 2 year’s course divided into 4 semesters.

MSc Agriculture Subject List

Semester	Subjects
Semester 1	Crop Physiology, Soil Science, Biochemistry, Agricultural Statistics
Semester 2	Agronomy, Entomology, Plant Genetics, Farm Machinery
Semester 3	Horticulture, Pest Management, Agricultural Marketing
Semester 4	Research Project, Dissertation, Practical Training

MSc Agriculture Entrance Exams

Some of the popular MSc agriculture entrance exams are ICAR AIEEA, MCAER CET, CUET-PG, UPCATET, LPU NEST, etc.

MSc Agriculture Fees

Fees is an important criterion while taking admissions because the student wants to check their ROI. Government Institutions have subsidized fees as compared to private ones because they receive grants from the Government.

We have mentioned below the fees at some of the public colleges offering MSc agriculture in UP:

Institution Name	1st Year Fees (Tentative) in INR
Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology Meerut	63700
CSAUA & T Kanpur	63700
BHU Varanasi	6662
DDU Gorakhpur	35913
NDUAT Ayodhya	63700
AMU, Aligarh	14000
BBAU Lucknow	12300
CCS Meerut	44835
CSJMU Kanpur	50000
Nandini Nagar Mahavidyalaya Gonda	15000
AU Allahabad	1100
BU Jhansi	37000
Rani Laxmi Bai Central Agriculture University Jhansi	31500
PRSU Allahabad	29950
Banda University of Agriculture & Technology	63700
Rajiv Gandhi South Campus Mirzapur	70000
Siddhartha University Siddhartha agar	3350
Shri Venkateshwara University Gajraula UP	Click Here

MSc Agriculture Jobs

There are a variety of roles available to a candidate with a MSc in agriculture. It includes, research scientist, Farm Manager, Agronomist, Corporate Sales Manager, Lecturer, Agriculture Officer, etc.

Research Scientist: India being an agrarian country, we need agriculture scientists to develop pest resistant crops that are resilient to climate change.

This is vital because having adequate food grains is vital for the most populous country in the world. Moreover, these research scientists devise progressive farming techniques that give a bumper harvest and supplement farmer’s income.

With increased use of chemical fertilizers, people prefer organic farming because it leads to healthy farm produce devoid of chemicals.

Hence, organic farming experts have a bright future because people prefer organic produce and farmers want to lower their cost of production.

In such a situation, agriculture scientists are in high demand because they will offer organic farming expertise that will give a bumper harvest.

Many corporates are purchasing large farms to grow organic food because the market is drifting towards organic foods. In such a scenario, there is enormous demand for farm managers, farm scientists who can give a bumper harvest with minimal input cost.

The central & state agriculture universities recruit agriculture scientists in large numbers to manage various research projects and develop pest resistant crop varieties.

The Krishi Vigyan Kendra’s (KVK) help farmers by providing agricultural technology, which boosts crop production and increases their income.

Agriculture graduates will always be needed because they ensure food security by developing high output crop varieties.

MSc Agriculture Salary

Job Profiles	Job Description	Average Salary
Agricultural Scientist	An Agricultural Scientist analyzes farming practices and food production techniques to enhance crop productivity and safety.	INR 12.2 LPA
Agriculture Manager	A career in agricultural management involves managing farm machinery, crops, goods, sales, and livestock purchases.	INR 8.3 LPA
Research Scientist	Research Scientists explore novel approaches to improve the quality of food produced and supplied through their work.	INR 9.2 LPA
Farm Manager	Farm Managers supervise employees, monitor livestock and crops, and handle various administrative tasks.	INR 7.3 LPA
Agronomist	An Agronomist studies and promotes agricultural methods to address changes in soil, climate, weather, and pest damage.	INR 5.1 LPA
Crop Breeder	A crop breeder monitors plant behaviour and condition, performs procedures, develops and grooms new crop varieties etc.	INR 9.5 LPA

Scope after doing MSc Agriculture

As discussed earlier, food grains are essential for humanity to survive. Hence, agriculture scientists would always be in demand to develop climate, pest resistant varieties that give a bumper harvest.

Likewise, the food processing industry represents 32% of India’s total food market and ranks fifth in production, consumption, export, and growth expectations.

It accounts for about 10% of GDP in the agriculture-manufacturing sector, contributes approximately 11.4% to total manufacturing GDP, and nearly 2.2% to the overall GDP.

This is a booming sector because with rapid urbanization, people want longer shelf life food products that can be cooked readily. For more details regarding Agriculture’s scope, please refer to the following link.