JALANDHAR: In a first for agriculture education in the country, Kavita Faman, a student of MSc agriculture ( agronomy ) at Lovely Professional University has been hired for Rs 1 crore annual package by Monsanto Canada, now part of the crop sciences division of the Bayer Group.

Faman, who belongs to Punjab's Gurdaspur district, will work in Canada - the dream destination for thousands of Punjabi students. Her package is almost equivalent to 200,000 Canadian dollars.

Monsanto Canada has hired Faman as a production manager for its Manitoba office and she is starting work this month itself. As production manager, she will be involved with planning, coordination and control of manufacturing processes in the company. "It is like a dream coming true," Faman said.

The offer was made on basis of a preliminary test and an interview conducted by the Monsanto officials. "Agriculture science is at the cusp of a technology-led disruption. From innovations in biotechnology to usage of data science, the field is embracing the latest technologies. I am very excited to join the company and will strive to absorb as much as I can over the next few years," Faman said.

The varsity is proud that its student has managed a good job and package in agronomy. "Agriculture education has never figured in the list where students would get hefty packages as most remunerative packages would come from IT industry, electronics or consultancy. It is for the first time that a student from agriculture education has reached the seven-digit package even before walking out of the university," Aman Mittal, LPU director, said.

Agriculture education in the region will get a boost from Faman's success. "It proves that there are massive career opportunities in agriculture for those who are willing to learn and work hard. We hope to see more students reaching the seven-digit figure in getting the packages," Dr Ramesh Kumar, LPU school of agriculture dean, said.

