Agriculture plays a vital role in India’s economy. The Indian food and grocery market is the world’s sixth-largest, with retail contributing 70 per cent of the sales. Agricultural education is now given importance so that the farmers can adopt environmentally and technologically advanced farming tactics and consequently increase productivity as well as profitability. Agricultural universities in India help farmers to make farming viable and profitable.
Only a few universities/colleges offer the agricultural courses in India. India has around 45 public, 5 deemed and 4 central universities with courses related to agriculture. Here is the list of top universities which are offering agricultural courses in India.
Various universities and colleges of India offer a wide range of UG, PG, doctoral and other courses in the field of agriculture. Some top specializations of agriculture courses which are trending among the students are Horticulture, Plant Pathology, Floriculture, Agronomy, Forestry, Seed Science & Technology, Genetics & Plant Breeding and many others.
Students can apply for admissions in agriculture courses through national, state or university level examinations. The ICAR organizes the national level exam called AIEEA for admissions into UG and PG agriculture courses. Students can also appear for admissions in state-level examinations like UPSEE, KCET, EAMCET, KEAM and many others. Some reputed agriculture universities of India also conduct their own entrance exam for selecting students for admission in agriculture courses.
Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi was established in 1905. The institute was then known as Agricultural Research Institute (ARI) which functioned with five departments, namely Agriculture, Cattle Breeding, Chemistry, Economic Botany and Mycology.
The University was formally inaugurated on March 20 1965, by Late Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri, the then Hon'ble Prime Minister of India. The University was renamed as Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University on November 7th 1996 in honour and memory of an outstanding Parliamentarian Acharya N.G. Ranga, who rendered remarkable selfless service for the cause of farmers and is regarded as an outstanding educationist, kisan leader and freedom fighter.
University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore was established in 1963. It is a premier institution of agricultural education and research in the country, began as a small agricultural research farm in 1899 on 30 acres of land donated by Her Excellency Maharani Kempa Nanjammanni Vani Vilasa Sannidhiyavaru, the Regent of Mysore and appointed Dr. Lehmann, German Scientist to initiate research on soil crop response with a Laboratory in the Directorate of Agriculture.
The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) had its genesis from establishment of an Agricultural School at Saidapet, Madras, Tamil Nadu, as early as 1868 and it was later relocated at Coimbatore.
National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal was established in 1923. It was originally started as Imperial Institute of Animal Husbandry and Dairying at Bangalore. It was expanded and renamed as Imperial Dairy Institute in 1936 and was known as National Dairy Research Institute after independence in 1947.
The Punjab Agricultural University was established in 1962 to serve the state of erstwhile Punjab. On trifurcation of Punjab in November 1966, Haryana Agricultural University was carved out of PAU by an Act of Parliament in February 1970.
Chaudary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar was established in 1970. The University is spread over an area of 7219 acres at Hisar and 1426 acres at outstations. The area at Hisar used for farming is 6483 acres and under buildings and roads is 736 acres.
Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly was established in 1889. It has regional campuses at Mukteshwar, Bangalore, Palampur, Bhopal, Kolkata and Srinagar.
Central Institute of Fisheries Education is the premier National Fisheries University of India dedicated to the development of quality human resources in frontier areas of fisheries and aquaculture. The institution was founded on 6 June 1961 under the Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India and was subsequently included in the Indian Council of Agricultural Research in 1979.
Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar was established in 1960. The G.B. Pant University is a symbol of a successful partnership between India and the United States. The establishment of this university brought about a revolution in agricultural education, research and extension.