Let’s explore, some of the Top Private Agriculture Colleges in Himachal Pradesh
Agriculture primarily deals with land management in context to agricultural requirements of a region or country. This can be understood in a wider perspective from the fact that arable area in India is around 394.6 million acres. In context of Himachal Pradesh, the area under crop cultivation is around 9,40,597 hectares.
This necessitates the need of having dedicated agriculture colleges which caters to need of society in general. These agriculture colleges act as a resource pool for producing competent agriculture professionals at different levels who can contribute towards development of agriculture in India in general and Himachal Pradesh in particular. With this objective in mind, Governments have been taking steps towards strengthening the agriculture sector and this led to evolution of Agriculture colleges.
Top private agriculture colleges in himachal Pradesh
In Himachal Pradesh, there are some agriculture colleges which fall under the preview of top private agriculture colleges in India.
Abhilashi University
Abhilashi University has an agriculture college which functions under the preview of faculty of Science at Abhilashi University. The college is not only among BSc agriculture colleges but also offers masters and doctorate level courses in field of agriculture. The bachelors level course here is a four-year program which equips students with basics in the subject. The University offers specializations in different streams of agriculture at master’s level including M.Sc. in Agriculture Entomology, Agronomy, Plant Pathology and Genetics & Plant Breeding.
At the doctorate level Ph.D. is available in Plant Pathology, Entomology and Extension Education.
Generally, candidates desirous of seeking admission in these courses at bachelors’ level need to have 50% marks in aggregate in the qualifying examination. For pursing master’s degree, they need to score 60% in B.Sc. and 55% in their MSc specializations for pursuing doctorate level course.
Shoolini University
School of Agriculture at Shoolini University is among top private agriculture colleges in India. A beginning in this field can be made here by enrolling for four-year bachelor degree program which has been framed as per ICAR guidelines. The BSc (Hons) Agriculture at Shoolini University has been designed in a manner that by the time students complete this course, they become equipped with latest techniques in Agriculture.
The faculty for Agriculture at Shoolini University comes from Oxford, National Cancer Institute and IISC. Research Opportunities in field of Agronomy, Agriculture Economics, Soil Science etc. are also available for BSc (Hons) Agriculture graduates here. Students who desire to enroll for this course should have 60% marks in 10+2 in PCM/PCB.
At the post graduate level, Shoolini University which is one of the top private agriculture colleges in himachal Pradesh offers MSc Agriculture in different specializations namely Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Extension & Communication, Agronomy, Entomology, Plant Pathology, Agriculture Genetics and Plant Breeding, Soil Science and Agriculture Chemistry.
Students desirous of seeking admission in Master’s degree here should have 60% in BSc Agriculture/Horticulture/Forestry. They have to qualify the MCQ based entrance examination conducted by university for admission in various courses.
Shoolini university is the leading research based university located at Solan and has been ranked among top 100 universities in India. The students at the university have filed 1300+ patents and the university has 104 +state of art laboratories which offer ample opportunities to agriculture graduates to pursue their research interests. This university has also been ranked as Number 1 among Private Universities in India through the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2023.
The active placement cell at this university has ensured placement of agriculture students with industry giants. Moreover, Shoolini University also has academic collaborations with universities in USA, UK, Korea, Taiwan etc. and graduates get ample opportunities to sharpen their research instincts.
Baddi University of Emerging Sciences and Technologies
The school of Agricultural Sciences at Baddi University is also among BSc agriculture colleges in Himachal Pradesh. Subjects like Agronomy, Soil Science, plant breeding, plant biochemistry etc. are covered in BSc (Hons) Agriculture course here.
This course has industry-oriented syllabus which covers aspects like seed production, organic agriculture, agriculture engineering, mushroom cultivation, vegetable and floriculture.
Eternal University
Dr. Khem Singh Gill Akal College of Agriculture at Eternal University Baru Sahib offers graduate and post graduate level courses in the field of Agriculture. Students get a theoretical and practical orientation in BSc (Hons) Agriculture on different aspects of Agriculture including agricultural metrology, soil science, agronomy, plant breeding and agricultural economics.
Students with 50% aggregate in 10+2 (PCM/PCB) are eligible for this course. MSc Agriculture with specialization in Agronomy, Agriculture Genetics and Plant Breeding, Entomology, Vegetable Sciences, Plant Pathology and Agriculture Economics is also available here.
Students with minimum of 50% marks in BSc Agriculture/Horticulture/Forestry are eligible for this two-year program.
MMU, Solan
Among the top private agriculture colleges in himachal Pradesh, MMU also finds a mention and offers BSc Agriculture which is a four-year course. Students who enroll for BSc Agriculture at MMU Solan get to study a range of subjects in the field including Soil Science, Plant Physiology, Genetics, Plant Pathology etc.
Those desirous of seeking admission in this course should have at least 50% in 10+2 with PCM/PCB subject combination.
Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry – [YSPUHF], Solan
Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry – [YSPUHF], Solan is also considered among top agriculture colleges in India. This is a government university that offers graduate, post graduate and doctorate programs in field of horticulture and forestry primarily. However, the university also offers some agriculture courses at the Post Graduate level.
These include MSc (Agri) Entomology, MSc (Agri) Plant Pathology, MSc (Agri) Seed Science and Technology, MSc (Agri) Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, MSc (Agri) Soil Science, MSc (Agri) Agriculture Economics, MSc (Agri) Microbiology and MSc (Agri) Agricultural Statistics. The university conducts its entrance examination and the admission is based on merit.
Arni University, Kangra
School of Basic Sciences, Horticulture, Agriculture offers BSc Agriculture. Different aspects related to field of agriculture are covered in the four-year bachelor’s degree program in this university. Students should have 50% in their 10+2 examination (PCM/PCB) if they intend to seek admission in this course at Arni University.
Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishwavidyalaya; College of Agriculture Palampur
This is one of the top private agriculture colleges in India in the Government sector. It offers quality education in the field of agriculture at graduate and post graduate level. Special emphasis is paid during the programs on hill and mountain agriculture.
There are 13 departments under Agriculture here with the primary ones being Agricultural Biotechnology, Agronomy, Entomology, Plant Pathology etc. The university offers ample research opportunities to the students and they can seek gainful employment in private and public sector after completion of the degree programs. Agriculture education in India has undergone a transformative change with time and modernization of techniques and technology. With the diverse kind of climatic challenges that we face today, the demand of professionals who have studied from best agriculture colleges in India has also increased immensely. Thus, it is the appropriate time to pursue a profession in this field and a worthy beginning can be made by enrolling for a graduate or a post graduate program in Agriculture accordingly.