What is an Agricultural Engineer? Functions and Responsibilities

17 de February de 2020

An agricultural engineer is the professional in the primary sector responsible for making the most of the resources offered by nature through research and studies. They are also qualified to carry out valuations, land appraisals, and project and construction management. Those who study Agricultural Engineering are specialized in the management of different disciplines, including agriculture, livestock, and the agro-industrial sector.

The responsibilities that an agricultural engineer has to assume vary depending on the project or sector in which they are working, but most of them require decision-making skills, management of work teams, and high fluency in communication, as they have to be in contact with a large number of people. At Euroval, we have these types of professionals when making valuations of land and rustic farms.

Contenido

1 What qualification does the profession of agricultural engineer require?
2 How many subjects are there? Average duration of the agronomy degree
3 What functions does the work of an agricultural engineer have?
4 What professional opportunities are there?
5 In which universities is the agricultural engineering degree taught?

Are you an Agricultural Engineer?

JOIN OUR TEAM

What qualification does the profession of agricultural engineer require?

Currently in Spain, an Agricultural Engineering degree is required to work as a professional in this area. Optionally, engineers also have the option of increasing their training through master's degrees and postgraduate courses. With these courses, they have the possibility of specializing in a branch such as animal or plant production, agro-food industries, rural engineering, food economics, or biotechnology.

How many subjects are there? Average duration of the agronomy degree

Several Spanish universities offer this degree, so depending on the educational center in which this degree is taken, both the subjects and the years will vary. In general, the average number of subjects taught in the Agricultural Engineering degree is 60, making a total of 400 credits including those corresponding to the end-of-degree project plus the internships.

These subjects are usually divided into a total of five academic years.

What functions does the work of an agricultural engineer have?

As mentioned, agricultural engineers have various functionalities depending on the specialization to which they dedicate themselves and the job they occupy, but in a general way they are trained to perform the following functions:

Conducting studies for the assessment of the state of the land, water and other natural resources to carry out measures to increase their productivity.
Planning procedures for the best exploitation of crops and their commercialization.
Various tasks related to livestock management, such as nutrition and animal reproduction.
Appraisals of rustic farms for which they use different methods such as income capitalization or environmental valuation.
Conservation of agri-food products.

Within the functions assigned to an agricultural engineer in an Appraisal Company are the appraisals and valuations of:

Agro-industrial companies.
Rustic farms.
Agricultural and livestock constructions and facilities.
Harvests.
Damages.
Assets
Judicial and administrative expert opinions.
Purchase and sale of rustic farms.
Manager of farms, companies and cooperatives.

Do you want to join our team?

SEND US YOUR RESUME

What professional opportunities are there?

The agricultural engineering degree has several professional opportunities, the most requested are the following:

Working in agricultural, livestock or agri-food cooperatives.
Dedication to the valuation of rustic land in Appraisal Companies approved by the Bank of Spain and the CNMV.
Self-employed as an agricultural expert.
Taking competitive examinations to enter the State Corps of Agricultural Engineers.
Specialization in agricultural machinery.
Project manager of agricultural and livestock farms.
Dedication to the fertilizer industry.

In which universities is the agricultural engineering degree taught?

In Spain, there are already many universities that have the Agricultural Engineering degree, among which we can find the following:

University of Almería (UAL), Degree in Agricultural Engineering.
University of Córdoba (UCO) which is taught at its Higher Technical School of Agricultural and Forestry Engineering (ETSIAM).
University of Lleida at the Higher Technical School of Agricultural Engineering (ETSEA).
Miguel Hernández University (UMH) which has a degree in Agri-Food and Agro-environmental Engineering.
Polytechnic University of Valencia in which the degree in Agri-Food and Rural Environment Engineering is found.
University of Seville which has a Higher Technical School of Agricultural Engineering (ETSIA).
Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM): It has the Higher School of Agricultural Engineering, Food and Biosystems, where up to four specializations are studied within the field of agricultural engineering.
University of León: Offers the Degree in Agricultural Engineering.
University of Lleida: Teaches studies related to Engineering of Agricultural and Food Industries.
Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT): It stands out for having an intense research and teaching activity in the field of Agricultural Engineering, with all its doctoral professors.