Working in the fields to make the world feed is something great beyond the imagination. It is one of the most divine activities one can have in life. As we all know that there is no need for a particular course or an entrance for being a farmer. But for supporting a farmer in their life there needs a particular course and an entrance. The Agriculture Field Officer (AFO) is such a specialist job that is recruited by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) for the participating banks in order to serve and support the agriculture sector and farmers of the country.
What is an Agriculture Field Officer?
Agriculture field officer (AFO) is a specialist officer in a bank which is recruited under the category of Specialist Officer (SO) through Common Recruitment Process (CRP) done by Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS). The post is of officer scale I and is not for any graduates. It is reserved for graduates who have 4-year Degree (graduation) in Agriculture/ Horticulture/Animal Husbandry/ Veterinary Science/ Dairy Science/ Fishery Science/ Pisciculture/ Agri. Marketing & Cooperation/ Co-operation & Banking/ Agro-Forestry/Forestry/ Agricultural Biotechnology/ Food Science/ Agriculture Business Management/ Food Technology/ Dairy Technology/ Agricultural Engineering/ Sericulture. Since the qualification for the post is specifically for some graduation stream the duty of the officers is also specific.
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The duties of an Agriculture Field Officer
The duties and responsibilities of the Agriculture Field Officer is same as that of an officer scale I responsibilities. But the clients which are receiving the service of these officers will be specific. And the matters which they will be dealing with will be specific. The duties of the agriculture field officer will be as follows:
Promote Rural Financing for Primary sector:
The major duty of the Agriculture Field Officer will be the rural financing of the primary sector. The primary sector means the agriculture sector. The agriculture sector may include food crops and cash crops also. The farmers always needed financial assistance from the banks for their agricultural needs. The financial assistance of the agriculture sector is very much different from any other sector because the finance needed and the recovery provided will be based upon many agro-related factors that the bank and the government decide. The Agriculture Field Officer analyses the criteria for the specific agriculture requirement. The financial assistance includes:
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Providing Loans
The government is offering many types of loans for providing financial assistance to the primary sector of the country. The loans are provided for specific purposes with low interest rates. So, the loans should be given according to the agro related information and purpose of the farmers and the financial need of the particular agriculture venture. The Agriculture Field Officer will be acting as the officer for determining all these factors and providing the required loan to the client.
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Providing special economic agro packages announced by the ministry
The government is launching many products and packages for agricultural purposes in order to promote the sector. They are apart from the loans. The requisite of the package will be highly technical and an experienced officer in this sector can analyse the right packages for the right needful person. The packages like Pradhana Manthri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) will be accounted for in this category.
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Inspecting the area and the agro products.
The agriculture land should be analysed and the products should be analysed in more of a technical way in order to deliver the financial assistance clearly. The financial assistance to the farmers in our country clearly differentiate large-scale farmers and small-scale farmers according to their quantity of land and machinery they use in agriculture. The crops yielding from such is also differentiated for promoting a helping hand to the rural small-scale farmers. The technical inspections will be carried out by the Agriculture field Officer by visiting Field
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Recovery of loans
This is one of the major duties of the Agriculture Field Officer that she/he is entitled to recover the loans that he/she has provided. That’s obvious, one who provides the loan is required to recover it on behalf of the bank.
- Processing the loan waiver initiatives
When the government decides to waive the particular loan or the bank decides according to prerogative decisions of the bank to waive the agricultural loan the duty will be imposed to check the feasibility and practicability is upon the AFO.
Act as an interface between agricultural requirements and financial assistance.
The people may not be that much literate to analyse and demand the financial assistance they need according to their position and prospects. The Agriculture Field Officer is the person who act as the interface between the bank’s financial products and the agricultural requirements of the rural primary sector and promotes its usage, opportunity to the needy. He is the face of the needy and face of the provider.
Entri – AFO – Look back – Look forward – Look into the Paper Study Package
Entri has revamped a detailed study for Agriculture Field Officer examination through Banking 2.0. Even though the AFO is a specialist job the preliminary of the IBPS SO examination is generally not adhering to the professional knowledge it requires. The preliminary should be qualified in order to appear for the mains examination followed by the interview. The preliminary examination consists of a typical bank exam which requires a lot of practice. It comes with a Look back – Look forward – Look into the paper method, which means it provides Banking Foundation Course, Detailed Video Study Classes with latest updates and makes you an expert with more than 24000 mock tests. Specially designed according to the IBPS SO 2020-2021 syllabus.
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Conclusion
The IBPS SO Officer is the gateway towards the Agriculture Field Officer which is not only a prominent job in the society but also a great social service and helping hand towards the agriculture sector and the farmers in our country. Prepare for the exam with Entri mentoring through Banking 2.0. Keep studying and keep winning.
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