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Agricultural Engineering Education in Developing Countries

S. Fernando, S. Bhushan and M. Naveen

Abstract

Agricultural Engineering or Biological (Systems) Engineering is still considered a fairly new

profession not only in developing countries but also in many of the developed countries. Although

civil, mechanical, chemical, electrical and industrial engineering are well established as

engineering subdivisions, Agricultural and Biological Engineering is still not considered as a

direct engineering discipline in many of the 162 developing countries in Asia, Latin America,

Africa and Europe.

Currently there are over 164 universities in 31 countries offering undergraduate degree programs

(or as an emphasis) in agricultural engineering. However, a fair number of these programs are not

offered through engineering colleges and thus are not accredited as engineering degrees. Since

economies of most of the developing countries still rely heavily on agriculture, undergraduate

Agricultural Engineering (AE) programs tend to be geared towards giving students a wide

spectrum of knowledge in agriculture and biology. A closer look at some of the curriculums

reveal that less than 50% of the coursework is in engineering and as a result, not adequate training

in engineering is being given to AE graduates to compete with those with traditional engineering

degrees. One argument is that agricultural engineers could get the required expertise in a graduate

program. However, many of students from developing countries neither have the financial

backing nor the assurance for better career opportunities to justify a graduate program in their

countries.

Many AE programs in developing countries have agricultural machinery/precision agriculture,

soil and water resources engineering, and food engineering as the core areas in the curriculum.

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Cathcart, T., & Bhushan, S., & Fernando, S. (2005, June), Agricultural Engineering Education In Developing Countries Paper presented at 2005 Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--15591