Saturday, July 22, 2006

Agriculture Engineering

Agricultural Engineers apply engineering principles to all activities related to agriculture and horticulture. Improvement in agricultural farm machinery, farm structures, rural electrification, bio-gas, new technologies in the design and manufacture of agricultural products and also conservation of soil and water are some of the jobs handled by an agricultural engineer. This basically implies looking after the mechanisation of agricultural activities for the smooth functioning and efficient increase in food productivity.

Agricultural engineers apply their knowledge of biological and agricultural systems and engineering to equipment design and assure environmental compatibility of practices used by production agriculture. This includes all activities related to agriculture and horticulture for smooth functioning and efficient increase of food productivity, improvement in agriculture farm machinery, farm structure, rural electrification, biogas, new technology in the design and manufacture of agriculture products, conservation of soil and water are the major jobs handled by agriculture engineers.

Entry

To become a qualified engineer one must have a graduate degree (B.E / B.Tech) or atleast a diploma in any one of the several branches of Engineering.

Eligibility:

The basic eligibility criteria for a candidate aspiring to do a BE in Agricultural Engineering is 10+2, with Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and preferably Biology.

Selection :

Selection to all Engineering courses is on the basis of : (a.) merit / marks secured in the final exams of 10+2 (with science subjects) ; (b.) through the means of entrance exams (joint entrance exam / JEE for the IIT's and separate state level and national level exams for other institutions). Engineering courses are available at two levels. There are the degree and postgraduate degree courses offered by the engineering colleges and Institutes of Technology (IITs), and, the diploma courses available at polytechnics.

The six Indian Institutes of Technology ( IITs) at Delhi, Bombay, Madras, Kharagpur, Kanpur and Guwahati, and the Institute of Technology (BHU) at Varanasi, conduct the Joint Entrance Examination for admission jointly.

Competitive examinations on an all-India basis for admission to a B Tech / B E course are also conducted by The Birla Institute of Technology, at Pilani, Rajasthan, and at Ranchi; the University of Roorkee, UP; Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal; the Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Annamalai University, among others.

There are also 17 Regional Engineering colleges all over the country which offer admission in various branches of engineering, on the basis of marks obtained in the Class 12 examination.

There is also the (AMIE) Associate Membership Examination of the Institute of Engineers which enables working people in the private and public sector, or diploma holders to acquire a Bachelor's degree through distance education, for career advancement.

Course Duration :
BE / B.Tech courses are of 4 years' duration The diploma courses are of 2-3 years' duration.
Specialization:
The bachelor's degree courses covers basic physical, engineering, and agriculture sciences, Soil conservation, drainage method, irrigation practices, firm machinery, dairy engineering etc.
Educational Attainment:
BE in agriculture Engineering. At the postgraduate level crop process engineering, firm machinery and power, soil and water conservation etc are taken up.
A Ph.D. degree of three years is also offered at IIT kharagpur, and IARI , New Delhi.
Institutions
Some of the premier engineering colleges in India are listed as follows : Indian Institute of Technology ( New Delhi, Mumbai, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, and Chennai )

Regional Engineering Colleges ( Warangal, Andhra Pradesh ; Silchar, Assam ; Jamshedpur, Bihar ; Surat, Gujarat ; Kurkshetra, Haryana; Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir; Surathkal, Karnataka ; Calicut, Kerala ; Visvesvaraya REC, Nagpur, Maharashtra ; Rourkela, Orissa ; Jaipur, Rajasthan ; Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu ; Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh ; Durgapur, West Bengal ; Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh ; Jalandhar, Punjab.)

Birla Institute of Technology (BITS) - (Pilani and Ranchi.)
Delhi College of Engineering, Delhi.
University of Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttar Pradesh.
Jadavpur University, Calcutta.
Personal Attributes Required

Organising ability, practicality, ability to get on well with people of all types- at all levels in the hierarchy,-from operatives to heads of research and managing director, ability to keep calm under pressure and in inevitable crises, and a liking for being at the centre of action. It is also necessary to like working with tools, drawing sketches of complex things and operations, and conceptualising forms and structures. While a high level of practicality, skill, accuracy, understanding power, capacity to toil, and perseverance are needed in ample quality, one must also have a knack for numbers and the ability to express one's ideas precisely to others.

Employment Opportunities Agriculture Engineering Excellent career opportunities exist in product engineering, equipment research and design, facilities design, environmental consulting, and engineering management.

To be specific Central and state Government of agriculture and agriculture engineering, agro industry, minor irrigation corporation, Food corporation of India, National Seed Corporation of India, National Diary Development Board, Agriculture Research Organization, Agriculture university, Diary and food industries, Nationalized Bank, Agriculture machinery manufacturing organization, tea gardens etc.

Job Prospects
There is no dearth of jobs for engineers. They can find employment in the following areas :
  • Government Sector, including the railways, municipal corporations, telecommunications departments, etc.
  • Public Sector organisations,
  • Private companies,
  • As commissioned officers in the defence services,
  • Research organisations and laboratories,
  • As technical experts on engineering projects in banks and financial corporations,
  • An engineer can set up his / her own small unit / company or consultancy.