The Emerging World of Dairy and Agricultural Careers

By Parveen Kumar Sharma

The awareness about alternative careers is on the rise and the treasure of careers in Dairy and Agricultural domains is yet to be unearthed.

Careers have a dynamic nature. They change. The change does not occur because the organisations fail or the demand-supply ratio is crashed. A paradigm change in the whole structure of business, services and thereafter demands of the clients/consumers/recipients define what is going to rise and what goes to the bench, waiting for a revival.

The great recession of the century did not happen because of some war or natural calamity, rather it was the crowd that was let to work without having 1. Appropriate Skills 2. Enough Demands of the Products. Of course, the recession was caused by a lot many other factors listed by experts. On the other hand, there have always been domains that remain unknown to millions who queue-up to age-old and ‘trending’ courses. This blind-choice leads to job hunt or sweating efforts in becoming an entrepreneur in the already jam-packed market.

The awareness about alternative careers is on the rise now and we see that ‘smart decisions are leading to settled careers’. Still, thousands are doing a stereotyped BTech in the conventional subjects and there are people doing the same MBA or BSc or other degrees. If they are trained well and enable self-analysis, they somehow find alternative careers and are finally avoid a failure. Parents, Teachers and Students need to research the options that are available to the PCM and Medical stream XII students. This is the high time that comprehensive research is done about the unconventional yet rewarding streams after school and graduations. If NEET and ICAR Entrances can both enter the options’s list, that would benefit.

The degrees, courses, specialisations and internships that are done these days are missing something very significant. It is not true that each one of us doing a particular degree is doing because it is the passion and interest. We have learnt to modify and channelise our interests and passions because the phenomenon of ‘over choice’ has actually limited our options of higher studies and careers subsequently. Awakening yourself to some treasures is needed.

The treasure of Careers in Dairy and Agricultural domains is yet to be unearthed. Students are pursuing these degrees and diplomas and seats at the prime institutes remain full. But, there seems to be a need for more such institutions per se specialised individuals who take available jobs and projects in these fields. The number of seats and institutions shall surely go high when applicants raise their interests.

For example, NDRI, the National Dairy Research Institute is a deemed university and strangely the courses of Diploma, BTech, Master Degree and PhD are yet to be the talk of the town, even in the region where the nationally acclaimed varsity is located. Some of the domains where the NDRI has its impact are Vermiculture, Crop Production, Mushroom Production, Dairy Farming, Dairy Processing, Bee Keeping, Fisheries, Conservation Agriculture, Home Science, Organic Farming, Cattle Business, Milk Products and lot more.

NDRI is just one of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research institutions. There are many such institutions offering a variety of courses that bring a new wave of learning as well as options for careers. Research and Development is the most attractive aspect of the courses in all these institutions. With 04 deemed universities, ICAR has 65 institutes all over India and thousands of students are pursuing their degrees and research to make a career in various domains. The list of PG courses at NDRI Karnal, Bengaluru & Kalyani is listed below to give you a sample snapshot of the standardised education and the careers waiting for the passionate students after XII or Graduation in relevant fields. The BTech in Dairy Farming leads to make one eligible for the enormous list of master degree specialisations with NDRI and allied institutions:

Master's programme in the following disciplines are offered at Karnal (Haryana):

1. Dairy Microbiology
2. Dairy Chemistry
3. Dairy Technology
4. Dairy Engineering
5. Animal Biochemistry
6. Animal Biotechnology
7. Animal Genetics & Breeding
8. Livestock Production & Management
9. Animal Nutrition
10. Animal Physiology
11. Dairy Economics
12. Dairy Extension Education
13. Forage Production
14. Animal Reproduction, Gynaecology and Obstetrics

Master's programme in the following disciplines is offered at Bangalore

1. Dairy Chemistry
2. Dairy Technology
3. Dairy Engineering
4. Animal Genetics & Breeding
5. Livestock Production and Management
6. Animal Nutrition
7. Dairy Economics
8. Dairy Extension Education
9. Food Quality & Safety Assurance

Courses offered at Kalyani

1. Animal Biotechnology
2. Livestock Production and Management
3. Animal Nutrition
4. Dairy Economics
5. Animal Genetics & Breeding
6. Dairy Extension Education
7. Animal Physiology

We are much aware of the milk products that we use and the rise in the number of makers of such products. For sure, we can visualise that the possibility of careers does exist there. Not just the big names like Nestle, Amul, Ananda Dairies, Kwality Ice Creams, Mother Dairy, Glaxo SmithKline, Kraft Heinz, Milk Federations of Government, Britannia, Tetra Pak India, ITC, Food Chains and Hotel Industry, Organic Farming Companies, Agricultural Publication Houses, Govt. Regulation Agencies etc.

A list of agricultural and associated domains like the ones mentioned above can be found easily. However, the following institutions have some innovative courses in unconventional domains:

• ICAR-CIFE (Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai)
• Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni (Solan), Himachal Pradesh offers an MBA in AgriBusiness along with other UG, PG and PhD domains.
• ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) has five campuses all over India.

Progressive Farmers are needed and can make a great career as Agripreneurs. Organic farming is another open opportunity for degree holders who get trained well in the course of their studies and research. There are individual, groups, companies who are making rich dividends to the growth of individuals engaged in it. There are progressive farmers who sell their products online and remain in much demand. The government schemes also motivate trained eligible professionals to take up innovative farming and agricultural or dairy related occupation. Even in small cities, away from metro life, organic farming and professional dairy business are fruitful. There is no dearth of work or career opportunities.

About the Author:

Parveen Kumar Sharma is a Mentor - Online Communities with Shiksha since its inception. He has been one of the top contributors in the Mass Communication and Journalism domain. Being a Teacher, he believes in empowering the students not just with academic excellence but 21st Century Skills as well. With more than a decade of experience, he contributes to Employability Enhancement and Communication Skills of students. He is a blogger, poet, public speaker and EdTech Evangelist.