Agricultural engineering is the engineering discipline that studies agricultural production and processing. Agricultural engineering combines the disciplines of mechanical, civil, electrical and chemical engineering principles with a knowledge of agricultural principles according to technological principles. A key goal of this discipline is to improve the efficacy and sustainability of agricultural practices. One of the leading organizations in this industry is the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.
Agricultural engineers may perform tasks such as planning, supervising and managing the building of dairy effluent schemes, irrigation, drainage, flood water control systems, performing environmental impact assessments, agricultural product processing and interpret research results and implement relevant practices. A large percentage of agricultural engineers work in academia or for government agencies. Some are consultants, employed by private engineering firms, while others work in industry, for manufacturers of agricultural machinery, equipment, processing technology, and structures for housing livestock and storing crops. Agricultural engineers work in production, sales, management, research and development, or applied science.
In 2006 Armenia's agricultural sector accounted for about 20 percent of the GDP. By 2010, it grew to about 25 percent. This was and is higher than in Armenia's neighboring countries of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Iran, in which the contribution of agriculture to the GDP in 2017 was 6.88, 5.63, 6.08 and 9.05 percent, respectively.
In the Philippines, the professional designation is registered agricultural and biosystems engineer. They are licensed and accredited after successfully passing the Agriculturist and Biosystems Engineering Licensure Examination. A prospective agricultural and biosystems engineer is required to have a four-year Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering.
The practice of agricultural and biosystems engineering also includes the following:
Consultation, valuation, investigation and management services on agricultural and biosystems engineering;
Management or supervision and the preparation of engineering designs, plans, specifications, project studies and estimates for agricultural and biosystems, aquaculture and fishery, and forest product machinery, agricultural and biosystems buildings and structures, farm electrification and energy systems, agricultural and biosystems processing equipment, irrigation and soils conservation systems and facilities, agricultural and biosystems waste utilization systems and facilities;
Conducting research and development, training and extension work, and consultancy services on agricultural and biosystems engineering facilities/services, system and technologies;
Testing, evaluation and inspection of agricultural and biosystems, fishery and forest product machinery and other related agricultural and biosystems engineering facilities and equipment.
Management, manufacturing and/or marketing of agricultural and biosystems machinery and other related agricultural and biosystems engineering facilities and equipment;
Teaching, agricultural and biosystems engineering subjects in institutions of learning in the Philippines;
Employment with the government-provided such item or position requires the knowledge and expertise of an agricultural and biosystems engineer.
In the United Kingdom the term agricultural engineer is often also used to describe a person that repairs or modifies agricultural equipment.
The American Society of Agricultural Engineers, now known as the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), was founded in 1907. It is a leading organization in the agricultural engineering field. The ASABE provides safety and regulatory standards for the agricultural industry. These standards and regulations are developed on an international scale for fertilizers, soil conditions, fisheries, biofuels, biogas, feed machinery, tractors, and machinery.
