Most recent data shows that agriculture provides employment to more than 46% of the population. There is jump of almost 4% from the pre pandemic times, which means before corona people were leaving agriculture and were moving towards other sector but after corona period there was seen a trend where people started moving back to the rural areas. More population involved in agriculture is not an issue but the share of agriculture in Indian economy is a challenge. Agriculture currently contributes only around 16%, it is something like for every 100 rupees earned by India, this 46% of earning population is able to earn only 16 rupee,it is like half of the population earning 16 rupees and other half is earning 84 rupees . The big reason behind this is disguised employment where more than required people are employed for completing same amount of work. Now to improve the condition of agriculture we need to take this extra working population out of farms for this the only solution is to increase village level production and services.
Following are the possible opportunities in agriculture sector-
- Soil health management services: these are the services that are used both by farmers and government. These are good career opportunities for youth residing in rural areas, as these can be operated from the house as well. This includes services like-
- Vermicompost / Manure selling
- Biofertilizers
- Soil amendments (gypsum, lime, micronutrients)
- Green manure seeds
- Mulching, residue management, land leveling
- Technical installation like drip irrigation, spray using drones , soil testing labs and other services.
- Advisory services like watershed development, land reclamation and financial services are gaining momentum in the rural areas.
- Supply chain management services: these includes services that helps farmers in managing their produce. This includes services like
- Procurement services
- Grading sorting and cleaning
- Storage and transport services
- Financial and other rural services: this is a fast growing sector and helps in managing the other two activities, This provides a good opportunity for rural students as it does not require huge investments. This includes services like-
- Quality assurance and quality support
- Market linkage services: where farmers can be connected to ENAM and other buyers online.
- Inventory management services: where facilities like Bar code QR code and other online information can be provided.
- Financial management services: here banks and government requires educated people to provide financial services at the rural level.
- Policy review and management: here educated people in the rural areas are hired to review the work of panchayat and other government Scheme. This service also provides you an opportunity to use social media platforms like instagram and Youtube to review policies and influence government policies. Policy reviewing and rural reporting is still an unexplored niche on social media platforms.
Now apart from opportunities it is important to see if government policies are in place to support the diverse jobs in the rural areas. The Government of India has been working on the idea to double the income of farmers, this is possible only when income for farmers can be generated from non farming resources. Schemes likePrime Minister Employment Generation Programme, National Rural Livelihood Mission, One District One Product, Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, Renewable Energy Jobs and many other state policies has been helpful in promoting non farm jobs.
Courses like B.sc in Agriculture sciences, BE in Agriculture engineering, B.Com in Agribussiness management, BA in rural management are some of the courses that can provide best career opportunities for students who really wants to bring changes in lives of the people and who wants to work on field. There are many such ideas that can change the shape of our villages and agriculture. If you want more information and have any doubts related to career you can reach me on anepic.org@gmail.com.