Lower agricultural education was started in Maharashtra before independence of the India. The concept of lower agricultural education revolves around improving the competency of participating students as well as providing trained manpower at the grass root level. In view of this, the Government of Maharashtra has started constituent and affiliated Agricultural Technical School in the state for generation of skilled and trained manpower in field of agriculture.

The division Lower Agricultural Education is headed by Associate Dean who is responsible for maintaining and imparting the quality of Lower Agricultural Education as diploma course.

• To impart the agricultural education to the students after 10th standard.
• To create awareness regarding generation of self employment in rural areas and to provide skilled resource for government services as extension workers.

At present, University has nine constituent and seventy six affiliated Agricultural Technical School. The annul intake capacity is 60 students in each Agricultural Technical School. The students those who passes 10th standard ( S.S.C.) examination are admitted strictly on district merit list in constituent and affiliated Agricultural Technical School. Since inception, the University has produced 60,546 skilled manpower in the lower agricultural education.

Every year more than 5000 students were admitted to agricultural diploma course.Hence, there is growing unemployment for diploma holders. The remedy lies in reorienting the lower agricultural education and their delivery system so as to produce diploma holders who are job creators rather than job seekers. With the changing social , political and economic structure in our country in different periods, agricultural education also has to undergo changes in its present curricula and its impact to face the rural youth challenges.

With this view in mind, this University has taken initiatives in restructuring the curriculum of lower agricultural education by including practical oriented subjects such as Seed production, Seed Technology, Organic Farming, Agril. Processing, Farm Mechanization and Irrigation Systems, Plant Production and Fruits and vegetables production Technology etc. with addition of agro based units for skill development in diploma holders .This skilled and young manpower will create self employment and work at grass root level.

These Diploma course helps to the students to start their own agri-business and act as Agri-entrepreneur. After completion of Diploma course the skilled human resources were developed for agro based industries. This programme act as media for students to make carrier after 10th standard and develop human resource development in agriculture.