Entry Level Qualification 

Class 8

Career Fields 

Agriculture & Food Science

For Specially Abled 

Career Entrance Exam 

No Entrance Exam

About Career 

1. As a Paddy Farmer, you will be working in rice/paddy fields. Your duties might vary with different climatic conditions, rainfall patterns, and soil types. You shall be responsible for getting the seeds and also selling your produce in the market later. For this, you also need to know the current market prices of the seeds as well as harvested rice varieties.

2. You need to sow seeds, ensure that the paddy field is properly irrigated, clear the growth of other plants and vegetation in the paddy growing area as well and harvest the crop when it is the right time. You must know about the tools/machines used for rice farming and repair them when they are defective.

Key roles and responsibilities:

As a Paddy Farmer, you will be engaged with one or more of the following roles and responsibilities:

1. Thorough plowing of soil, sowing of seeds, applying manure, and spraying fertilizers.

2. You will be using various machines and tools to prepare the soil for cultivation.

3. You will be making drainage and irrigation channels.

4. You will be controlling the spread of weeds/pests by spraying pesticides.

5. Keeping yourself updated about the latest methods of farming, new fertilizers, equipment, etc. to increase productivity.

6. You will be preparing soil samples for testing.

7. You will be trimming (cutting) unnecessary trees or other vegetation that are harmful to the crop.

Career Entry Pathway 

Class 5 in school – Fieldwork as a farm hand in a paddy field – Obtain an NSQF Level 4 Certificate of ‘Paddy Farmer’.

After completion of Class 5 in school, you can work in a paddy/rice field as a farm hand. Then you can apply to obtain an NSQF (National Skill Qualification Framework) Level 4 Training and Certificate of ‘Paddy Farmer’. The total number of training hours is 150.

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After completing Class 5 in school, you can enroll for the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) course in ‘Paddy Farming’. The medium of instruction is both Hindi and English. It is of 1-year duration and the total number of training hours is 240. The course fee is Rs. 3000/-.

Required Qualification & Competencies 

You may not need any formal education or training to work as a farm hand in a rice/paddy field. Ideally, you should obtain an NSQF Level 4 Certification of ‘Paddy Farmer’ or undergo a NIOS 1-year training course on ‘Paddy Farmer’ after completing Class 5 in school to be a full-time Paddy Farmer.

Competencies Required

1. You should have an interest in Realistic Occupations. Realistic occupations involve more practical and hands-on activities than paperwork or office work. Realistic occupations often involve physical activities for getting things done using various tools and equipment.

2. Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

3. Skills in training others how to do something.

4. Skills in Supervising and monitoring the performance of others, businesses, and different projects.

5. Good hand-eye coordination and ability to handle physical activities which require a lot of effort.

6. The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods without getting winded or out of breath.

Career - Job Opportunities & Profiles 

Work opportunities include:

1. Carrying out farming in your land

2. Carrying out farming on land leased by a landowner

3. Working as a farmhand or farm labor

4. Working on farms owned by various co-operatives.

Career Growth

Growth in ranks is only possible in Cooperative Farms (owned by farmers’ co-operative farms or other farms owned by corporate organizations). You will be farm labor at others’ farms unless you lease or buy your land for independent farming. Otherwise, if you have your farm, you shall be a farm worker at your farm.

Salary Offered  

Paddy farmers earn between Rs. 30,000.00 to Rs. 50,000.00 per acre per year depending on the produce. The production also depends on precipitation levels and climatic threats/conditions thereby indirectly affecting their earnings. The earnings differ from state to state.

Monthly Earnings In Indian Rupee

1. Entry level: 0 - 2 years of work experience

2. Junior Level: From 1 to 12 years of work experience

3. Mid-Level: From 5 to 20+ years of work experience

4. Senior Level: From 10 to 25+ years of work experience (there could be exceptions in some high-end technical, financial, engineering, creative, management, sports, and other careers; also shortly, people will reach these levels much faster in many careers and in some careers, these levels will have no meaning as those careers will be completely tech skill driven such as even now, there is almost no level in a Cyber Security Expert’s job)

Famous Personalities 

Not Available

Work Activities 

​​​​​​​1. Performing physical activities– Performing physical activities that require the use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.

2. Getting Information and learning– Observing, hearing, reading, using computers, or otherwise obtaining information regarding seeds, pesticides, or fertilizers for purchase and learning from it.

3. Handling and moving objects and materials– Using hands or otherwise using physical strength to handle and move objects and materials; maneuver, install, lift, place, etc.

4. Inspecting equipment, systems, structures, and materials– Inspecting equipment, systems, structures, and materials to ascertain quality, performance, defects, causes of errors, etc.