UPSC Agriculture Optional Syllabus for Paper 1 and Paper 2
By Balaji
Updated on: March 23rd, 2023
UPSC Agriculture Optional Syllabus covers the topics that would help the candidates to understand the basic concepts of Ecology, Agronomy, Weed Science, Cell Biology and many more. If the candidate is from an Agriculture background and would realize the UPSC Agriculture syllabus accurately the topics would be simpler to cover.
This article will elaborate on the UPSC Agriculture optional syllabus along with the best preparation strategy and recommended booklist needed to study the syllabus. The candidate should know the complete structure of the UPSC Agriculture Optional syllabus that would assist them to score well in exams.
Table of content
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1. UPSC Agriculture Optional Syllabus
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2. UPSC Agriculture Optional Syllabus PDF
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3. Agriculture Syllabus for UPSC: Paper 1
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4. UPSC Agriculture Optional Syllabus: Paper 2
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5. UPSC Agriculture Syllabus – Preparation Tips
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6. Booklist for UPSC Agriculture Optional Syllabus
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7. Success Rate of Agriculture Optional in IAS Mains
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8. Reasons to Choose Agriculture Optional for UPSC
UPSC Agriculture Optional Syllabus
The candidate should have an idea of the papers in the UPSC Agriculture Optional Syllabus exam. The two sets of papers are Paper 1 and Paper 2 in UPSC Mains. Paper 1 and Paper 2 are of 250 marks and the total marks is 500.
| UPSC Syllabus for Agriculture Optional | Topics |
| UPSC Agriculture Optional Syllabus Paper 1 | Ecology, Agronomy, Weed science, Forestry, Soil science and nutrient management, Soil and water conservation, Agricultural economics, Agricultural extension |
| Agriculture UPSC Optional Syllabus Paper 2 | Cell biology, Plant breeding, Seed production and technology, Plant physiology, Horticulture and landscape gardening, Plant protection techniques, Food production and nutrition management |
UPSC Agriculture Optional Syllabus PDF
One can easily download the UPSC Agriculture Syllabus in both Hindi and English by just clicking on the link provided. Besides all this, you should know about Mains syllabus in a complete manner.
Aspirants residing in remote areas will more efficiently prepare for the subject. They have access to traditional learning and are better capable to apprehend the problems faced by farmers.
Agriculture Syllabus for UPSC: Paper 1
The Agriculture Syllabus for UPSC is very fast and it has 6 topics in paper 1 which are further split into subtopics. A complete UPSC Agriculture Optional Paper I Syllabus is illustrated below and some of the important topics asked in Paper 1 are:
- Climate change – international conventions and global initiatives
- Global Warming and the Greenhouse effect
- Precision and Organic Farming
- Package of practices for the production of important types of crops in India (cereals, commercial, oilseeds, pulses, sugar, and fodder crops).
- Non-Government Organizations (NGO) and self-help group approach for rural development.
UPSC Agriculture Optional Syllabus: Paper 2
There are 6 topics total in the Paper 2 of the UPSC Agriculture Optional Syllabus which are further divided into subtopics. The entire UPSC Agriculture Optional Paper II Syllabus is demonstrated below and a few crucial topics you must cover are as follows:
- Role of biotechnology and genetic engineering in crop improvement.
- Food security and growing population – vision 2020.
- Nutrient deficiency – Micronutrient deficiency: Protein Energy Malnutrition or Protein Calorie Malnutrition (PEM or PCM)
UPSC Agriculture Syllabus – Preparation Tips
UPSC Agriculture Optional syllabus strongly highlights students’ ability to proceed towards the topic as science and use what they understand to real-world problems. Follow the below-given preparation tips for covering the entire syllabus of Agriculture syllabus for UPSC.
Must understand the syllabus very well
It is mandatory to understand and analyze your entire Agriculture UPSC syllabus. If you want to excel in your exam, you must be thorough with your syllabus.
Select the good books for the exam preparation
The candidate must choose the best books for their exam preparation. The good books for the exam preparation are Fundamentals Of Agricultural Extension Education, Genetics, Agronomy, Introduction To Horticulture, Plant Breeding and many more.
Design a study plan for the exam
The study plan plays an important role in exam preparation. Every candidate must make a study plan for themselves so that they can score good marks in their exams. You should make a strategic plan monthly, weekly, and daily and follow it rigorously.
Separate the important topics from the syllabus
Always keep the important topics aside and make small notes on them, and revise them regularly. You can solve question papers to find out the weightage of various topics that come under the Agriculture optional UPSC syllabus.
Ready to solve previous years’ papers
After completing your entire syllabus, you should go for solving the previous year’s questions by which you will get to know your weak and strong parts and then you can prepare accordingly.
Booklist for UPSC Agriculture Optional Syllabus
Candidates who choose agriculture as an optional topic for the UPSC civil services exam will find that the course material is engaging and relevant to the issues that the nation’s agriculturalists are now encountering. Have a look at the best-recommended books from which you can prepare for the UPSC optional agriculture syllabus.
| Books for preparing Agriculture Optional UPSC | Publisher Name |
| Fundamentals Of Agricultural Extension Education | U Barman |
| A Textbook of Agricultural Statistics | R. Rangaswamy |
| Agronomy | Yellamanda Reddy |
| Entomology | Vasantha Raj & David |
| Genetics | B.D.Singh |
| Handbook Of Agriculture | ICAR |
| Introduction To Horticulture | Kumar |
| Physiology | Pandey & Singha |
| Plant Breeding | B.D. Singh |
Success Rate of Agriculture Optional in IAS Mains
Though lesser of candidates opt for Agriculture as their optional subject, it is seen that the success rate has been increasing over the years. The table represents the number of candidates who appeared for Agriculture optional along with its success rate for 4 subsequent years (2017-2014).
| Year | Total Aspirants Appeared | Number of Aspirants Recommended this optional | Success Rate (Percentage) of Agriculture Optional UPSC |
| 2017 | 89 | 11 | 12.4 |
| 2016 | 220 | 41 | 18.6 |
| 2015 | 122 | 20 | 16.4 |
| 2014 | 77 | 7 | 9.1 |
Reasons to Choose Agriculture Optional for UPSC
It is observed that the UPSC Agriculture optional syllabus is neither complicated nor lengthy. Therefore, many UPSC candidates complete it effortlessly.
- The Paper II Agriculture optional syllabus is similar to that of Paper II of Botany. So, it is suggested that Botany students should pick this optional subject as they are having satisfactory knowledge about the subject and understand it well.
- A bunch of Agriculture topics have a direct resemblance with the UPSC GS papers of Economy and Geography.
- The syllabus of Agriculture optional is easier to finish.
