Maharashtra’s agriculture colleges face a severe enrolment crisis, leading to the closure of at least 10 institutes and over half of all seats remaining vacant in 44 others . This decline affects both private and some government-run colleges, particularly in allied fields like agricultural engineering, biotechnology, and food technology.
The College of Agriculture, Saralgaon, a private institute established in 2001, reflects this trend. For the 2025-26 admission cycle, fewer than 60 of its 120 first-year seats filled. Its food technology and biotechnology colleges enrolled only 19 students each. Agricultural engineering and horticulture sections at Saralgaon closed years ago due to low student numbers.
Widespread Vacancies and Closures
Across Maharashtra, 44 institutes reported 50% or higher seat vacancies in the current academic year. Six institutes, including three agricultural engineering colleges, failed to enroll any students. Overall, 13,897 of 16,829 undergraduate seats (82%) were filled, an improvement from previous years but significantly lower than the near-full enrolment of 2017-18.
Private institutes show higher vacancy rates, with only 54 of 151 (barely a third) filling all seats. Government institutes are also affected; 15 of 47 did not fill all spots. An agriculture business management college in Beed recorded a 77% vacancy rate, and the state’s sole community science college in Parbhani had 58% vacant seats.
Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth (BSKKV), Dapoli, and its 25 affiliated colleges reported the lowest enrolment, with only 57% of 2,023 undergraduate seats filled this year. The crisis has led to the closure of 10 colleges in the last two years, including six agricultural engineering institutes.
Causes of Declining Enrolment
Several factors contribute to the enrolment crisis:
- Uncontrolled Growth of Colleges: A former official at the Maharashtra Council for Agricultural Education and Research (MCAER) stated Maharashtra has 60 more agri colleges than required. Despite this, the state approved 13 new private BSc agri colleges in the last two years.
- Limited Job Opportunities: Government recruitment in agriculture has largely frozen since 2016. Private sector opportunities are also limited, leading graduates to seek public sector jobs. Many graduates are not satisfied with entry-level private sector salaries around ₹20,000 per month.
- Admission Rule Changes: In 2018, rules changed, allowing students with mathematics but not biology in Class 12 to pursue most agriculture courses and Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm). This diverted students from BTech agri programs to BSc Agriculture or BPharm, perceived as easier or more lucrative.
- Curriculum Issues: Sumit Rathod, former principal of Sahyadri College of Agricultural Engineering, cited the agriculture engineering curriculum as a problem. It combines agriculture and engineering without deep specialization and lacks practical training, hindering job prospects in production and research.
- University Quota: Colleges affiliated with a specific university must fill 70% of seats with students from that territory. For BSKKV Dapoli, only 680 applicants were available for around 1,400 university quota seats, leaving many empty. Colleges have requested the government to remove this quota.
- High Operating Costs: Colleges offering technical programs like biotechnology face high costs for equipment and chemicals. Sharadchandraji Pawar College of Agriculture shut its biotechnology college due to shrinking enrolment and high expenses.
Future Outlook and Demands
Agricultural engineering graduates face disadvantages in government jobs. In 2023, the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) altered the Maharashtra Agriculture Service Exam, reducing subject-specific questions for agri-engineering students. Protesters claimed this change favored traditional agriculture students.
Colleges advocate for policy changes, including removing the university quota and waiving the minimum 45% Class 12 criterion for admissions. Many agriculture graduates hope for teaching positions, especially as agriculture becomes a mandatory subject in state schools. Nanasaheb Yewale, Director of Yashodeep Samajik Vikas Sanstha, argues agri graduates should receive priority for these roles.