Agriculture  is one of the most important sectors in the Indian economy employing huge population. About 60 percent of the Indian population works in this sector, contributing about 18 percent to India's GDP. Majority of the population in Telangana state is in rural areas and mainly dependent on Agriculture for livelihood. Most of the farmers in all states  are either small or marginal. In Telangana state, the total farming land is 50.0 lakh hectares and there are 60 lakh farmers. As the largest population is depending on agriculture in the state, agricultural education and research is one of the growth engines for the agricultural development of the state.

Agricultural Sciences deals with aspects like food production, horticulture, animal rearing, rural economy and rural development, environmental health, etc. Other sectors may face downsizing but agriculture can never fall prey because “food” is the basic necessity for life and hence, will never face a recession. The demand for graduates with a degree in agriculture is increasing every year in India and abroad.

The MNR university offers the degree with the syllabus and other academic standards recommended by the ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) and is designed to train students to understand ways of improving the crop production in a sustainable manner and to provide overall knowledge related to agriculture and related disciplines. This degree prepares the students for a wide range of careers related to the agriculture sector and other allied industries.

The National agricultural scenario has been witnessing a tremendous change for the past ten years. An entirely new set of issues such as global warming, natural resources depletion and degradation, scarcity of agricultural labour and inputs and increased costs of cultivation etchave arisen. These offer exiting challenges and opportunities that require development and application of new knowledge and frontier technologies in agriculture that are cost and time effective. In order to address these issues, a paradigm shift is called for in human resources development, research, technology generation and dissemination and commercialization. In this endeavour, the conventional research approaches need to be supplemented by the cutting edge technologies requiring multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional inputs like the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Artificial Intelligence.

Hence, The School aims at training students with advanced technologies, ICT and Artificial Intelligence in agriculture to empower them with the 21st century capabilities acquiring knowledge and skills across the disciplines. With the skills in frontier technologies acquired, the graduates will be able to effectively contribute to the development of agriculture sector in general and the farmers in particular.

Dr AGEPATI SIVASANKAR is the Dean, School of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, MNR University, studied in premier institutes including IARI, New Delhi. He has 38 years of experience in Teaching, Research and Administration at Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU). He guided 8 M.Sc(Ag) and 4 Ph.D. students. He published 91 research articles and presented 28 papers. He was associated with the release of two cold-tolerant rice genotypes (JGL 384 & JGL 1798) and conferred cold tolerance in JGL 3855 and JGL 3844 at RARS, Jagtial. He was the Co-Principal Investigator for two (2) externally funded research projects in rice (from DBT and RKVY) and one research project in castor (from UGC). He organised two (2) National Seminars on “Science for Shaping the Future of India”, Hyderabad and Plant Physiology (sponsored by ISPP), New Delhi. He was a recipient of the ISCA: Young Scientist Award in 1988. He also received AP State Best Teacher Award from Govt. of AP. in 2012. He served as Expert Examiner for various institutions (ICAR-NTA/ASRB, UPSC, IARI, TNAU, UAS-Bangalore, UHS-Bagalkot).

The School provides such opportunities to the students by offering the following programme

· B.Sc (Hons) Agriculture

Employment Opportunities for B.Sc (Hons) Agriculture Graduates

Agriculture is considered the country’s spine. By attaining this degree (B.Sc (Hons) Agriculture), you will be contributing to a better way of life. When you chose agriculture as your career, you will have a bright future ahead. Agricultural graduates find jobs in state and central government agriculture and allied departments, as agricultural officers, agricultural extension officers, seed certification officers and in private companies related to pesticides, fertilizers, micro-irrigation, seed and sugar industry, food processing industry, as agricultural field officers or rural development officers and credit officers in nationalised and private banks with very lucrative salaries. Agricultural graduates can also pursue M.Sc/MS and Ph.D degree in India and abroad to gain eligibility for pursuing teaching/research oriented jobs. Graduates with higher academic qualifications can get opportunities to work in Universities, ICAR Institutes and International Institutions. Agricultural graduates can go for higher studies in foreign countries namely USA, Canada, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Australia and subsequently can seek high profile jobs in those countries. Other avenues to join are ware house managers, estate managers, horticultural consultants, agricultural land development consultants, agricultural Journalists, NGOs and landscaping managers. Many upcoming areas where agricultural graduates can excel are Artificial Intelligence, Drone Technology, Nanotechnology, Vertical Agriculture and E-commerce to meet the 21stcentury requirements Globally. If interested, after graduation they can go for Civil Services, Forest services at Central level and Group Services at State level for challenging administrative jobs. Many opportunities are also opening up in new arenas like Precision agriculture, Smart Agriculture and IT in agriculture.The University’s Placement Cell will strive hard to facilitate placements and avenues for higher studies for the graduates as per their aspirations.