Strategy for Agriculture Optional for UPSC IAS Mains

Agriculture is the main occupation in our country. Due to the advent of technology, several students take up subjects that are related to technology for a better career. But, deep down, it is very  important to get hold of the crops that is very essential for our life.

Without food, it is impossible to survive here and agriculture plays a major role  in producing food crops. If we understand the quintessence of agriculture, it will bring a great impact and revolutionize our society.

Having said all about Agriculture, the knowledge we obtain in Agriculture is very less in our school days and in college, it becomes a domain and we never come to know about the importance of agriculture. Agriculture Optional is a good move by the UPSC as civil servants will get to know about it before they kick-start their services to the society.

Who can opt for Agricultural Optional?

Several students choose Agriculture optional as it is an easy scoring subject, but it is also essential to understand about the nitty-gritty of our country’s main occupation. If you are a student from agriculture, Botany, Zoology or any science domain, you can actually take up this subject as optional. Prior knowledge in Science is mandatory to choose Agriculture optional or else it will be a tough phase for the students to prepare.

Why choose Agriculture Optional?

• The syllabus is very tiny when compared to other optional subjects and you don’t have to spend much of your time in preparation.
• Most of the questions in the Paper II is from Botany which is quite easy for the Botany students to answer.
• A few topics and sections of Agriculture Optional overlaps with General studies and this is the reason for the candidates to opt for this subject.
• Unlike other Science subjects, Agriculture requires some sophisticated thinking as it includes some strategy
• Aspirants with precise practice can acquire more marks, that too in the very first attempt itself.
• Moreover, the syllabus of Agriculture Optional Paper I is very similar to the General Studies paper.
• The basic and fundamental topics of agriculture comes under the GS paper which makes it easier to prepare and you just have to revise them after studying it for UPSC Prelims.
• Concepts like Agriculture customs, cell structure and more are covered in General studies.
• Get set to prepare for Agriculture optional by reading the important books for UPSC Mains preparation. Remember, you need to allocate a maximum of five months to complete the syllabus of this subject.

Books Refer for Agriculture Optional UPSC IAS Mains

• Agricultural Extension Education in India
• Agriculture Statistics
• Agronomy – Yellamanda Reddy
• Entomology – Vasantha Raj & David
• Genetics- B.D.Singh
• Soil Science – D.K Das Or Brady
• Introduction To Horticulture – Kumar
• Handbook Of Agriculture -ICAR
• Physiology – Pandey & Singha
• Plant Breeding -B.D. Singh
• Special Issue of Agriculture by The Hindu
• The Hindu – Survey Of Indian Agriculture

Lets See the Agriculture Optional Strategy by UPSC topper

Here are some of the important points that you need to follow while writing Agriculture Optional and the tips below is a summary of Agriculture Optional Strategy by UPSC topper.

• You should completely grasp the syllabus and then become an expertise in Agriculture domain.
• Instead of memorizing, understand the concepts and research more on internet rather than relying on the study materials alone.
• Diagrams, subtitles, summary of the contexts, mind maps will add value to the answers.
• Besides, candidates should concentrate more on the systematic attributes and then properties as well.
• Also, get to know about the Agricultural policies that Government established of late. The information about latest agricultural schemes are available in the Agriculture Ministry website and then you can go through it for reference rather than studying unreliable resources.
• Moreover, the very essential thing about the preparation is practice. Don’t worry as you can obtain the previous years. questions papers and study the repeated questions which is the best way to prepare easily.