Did you know that the food on your table is an end result of the efforts by countless people involved in the agriculture industry? With rapid global expansion and alarming environmental fluctuations, one of the greatest challenges faced by the modern society is to work towards maintaining a robust agrarian sector. The global agricultural industry is the source of livelihood for millions around the globe and generates a revenue of more than $2 trillion per year.
In this scenario of technological advancements, there have been many changes in employment opportunities. Conventional roles in farming are rapidly being replaced with new roles like food scientists, soil scientists, and harvesters. Contrary to the popular myth, these jobs in the modern agriculture industry are well-paying and exciting.
If you want to start a career in this industry but are unsure about the opportunities, this blog can shed light on several exciting career roles that open up for you after completing a degree like B.Sc. Hons agriculture.
Why should you consider pursuing a bachelor’s course in agriculture?
This domain is a major contributor to the development of economies around the world. In some nations such as India, it is the largest employment generation industry. Although the career options in the domain were limited a few decades ago, the industry has grown and expanded to generate millions of career roles across the globe owing to the development in the global trade and technology.
Graduates today are free to choose from a diverse selection of career roles in the domain.
What is the career scope of the international agricultural industry?
Many graduates and young working professionals do not consider this industry for starting their careers as the term mostly brings to the mind the picture of agricultural labourers toiling in the fields. On the contrary, this domain is incredibly diverse and has a wide range of career options that matches your academic interests and professional aspirations.
If you hail from a business background and would like to continue in that specialisation, you can explore a large number of business and managerial roles in large agro-product manufacturing companies. The industry also intersects with the marketing and sales domains and is in constant demand for talented marketing and advertising professionals who can appeal to the customers and determine their needs.
The industry also sources endowed professionals with a scientific research background to help the industry keep pace with rapid advancements in technology and science. Graduates with this degree and backgrounds in scientific disciplines like soil science, marine biology, bio-chemistry, botany, microbiology and genetics can apply for several financially-rewarding roles in the domain.
Different job opportunities in this industry
Here are the best jobs in this sector that offer high salary packages and exciting work.
- Agricultural scientists: Agricultural scientists find out new methods to improve the productivity and quality of various crops such as cotton, paddy, or jute. They are also responsible for creating new crops by genetically modifying the existing ones and making them self-reliant and sustainable. As a food scientist, your role would extend to improvement of food packaging, preservation and delivery methods.
- Agricultural engineers: These engineers design systems, machines and equipment to support agricultural processes and solve their concerning issues. To build a career in this field, the prerequisite is to hold a bachelor’s degree in engineering or mechanics for developing knowledge in instrumentation.
- Agricultural managers: These managers handle many responsibilities including recruiting, training and supervising farmlands, scheduling farm activities and keeping track of on-farm production. The role also includes maintenance of financial records of an agri-business and marketing produce.
- Agricultural commodities traders: Agricultural commodities traders analyse the price trends of farm products like corn, coffee, and cotton to establish their market values and trade in them. To work as a commodity trader, you need to have an innate knowledge of the factors affecting the supply and demand of agricultural produce.
- Agro-sales specialists: Agro-sales specialists are responsible for formulating strategies and campaigns for the sale of different agrarian products like fertilisers, crop seeds, farm equipment and machinery, and pesticides. As an agro-sales specialist of a big agricultural product company, you might be called in to make and negotiate deals with farmers’ unions, cooperative societies or government departments.
- Hydrologists: Hydrologists are responsible for the study of the structure of existing and potential water supplies to the fields, which is essential for healthy crops. They also evaluate the impact of farming on water resources and suggest ways to minimise soil erosion and water depletion.
- Soil and plant scientists: Soil and plant scientists research on crop production and investigate new methods for treating soil which range from controlling crop diseases and pests to improving the quality of the crops. They also test the chemical and biological composition of the grounds in the field to enhance its quality.
In addition to these mainstream roles, there are new job additions in this industry such as agricultural analysts, market analysts, quality controllers, agricultural assistants in agri-businesses.
A career in the global agronomical industry can provide you with an opportunity to further your career and give back to the nature at the same time. If you want to join a course in agri-business to contribute to humanity at your end, look out here.