Top Five Careers in Smart Agriculture that No One Tells You About

Technology to modern man is what fire was for the cavemen. From the Industrial Revolution to the advent of the World Wide Web, technology has revolutionized industries. For the agriculture sector, precision agriculture and smart farming are becoming its new avatar and consequently opening up a plethora of new employment opportunities.

Here’s a rundown of the five careers in smart agriculture that no one tells you about.

• Agricultural Engineer: India is an agri-economy, and yet most of the farmers use outdated methods and equipment. As an agricultural engineer, one has to anticipate modern alternatives to traditional farming to increase efficiency and mitigate risks. Smart agriculture calls for tech-driven solutions; IoT-powered machinery, GPS enabled equipment, and data processing systems. With an Agricultural Engineer on-board, a farmer will keep up with the changing trends in agri-tech.
• Software Engineer: Integration of IoT, wireless connectivity, GPS, and drones, into agriculture has led to improved efficiency. As advanced as a machine can be, it will require human intervention for software patches, optimum networking, and upgrading to higher versions. Software Engineers adept at emerging technologies are in need to monitor machines to work in harmony. Technological innovations continue to assist agriculture, and professionals who can integrate these innovations and predict the future tech demands will stand a high chance of growth.

• Data Scientist: Technology’s most significant advantage is the abundance of data that farmers can put to use. From sensors to drones, from GPS to IoT-enabled devices, a deluge of information is waiting to be decoded into insightful information. A Data Scientist will play a key role in teaching farmers how to use information about their farm – from soil moisture to behavior of a plant in response to climate change – to increase productivity while practicing sustainable farming.
• Agronomist: Agronomists will study big data to determine the efficiency of soil and crops. Responsible for the health and well-being of crops, they study the data to develop ways to improve the quality, nutritional value, and production of crops. Today, when arable land is shrinking, Agronomists, together with Data Scientists, will help farmers to improve soil productivity and optimally managing land. In simpler terms, better data will lead to higher productivity on a given patch of land.
• Food Technologist: While a Data Scientist takes care of the data a farmer requires, a Food Technologist takes care of the food that is produced. They study the physical, chemical, and biological properties of food to improve the final product. Additionally, they also research consumer markets and the latest technologies to develop new product concepts. A crucial job in times of the growing food demand, they optimize ways to combine, process, store, and preserve food to maintain taste and nutritional value and improve shelf-life.

Technology will no doubt bring the next Green Revolution. Farmers will have to understand technology and technologists will have to familiarize themselves with agriculture concepts. Professionals with a knack for tech and agriculture will be driving the revolution, and UPES will be at the forefront of producing a competent workforce. The School of Smart Agriculture, with its advanced programmes aims to cultivate the next generation of agri-tech leaders. To know more about the programmes, visit upes.ac.in.