IBPS SO Agriculture Field Officer Exam 2022
Institute of Banking Personnel Selection or IBPS conducts the recruitment drives for the commercial (public sector) as well as rural banks in India. It holds separate examinations for various posts such as PO, SO & Clerk. IBPS SO official notification 2022 has not been released yet. But according to the IBPS Official calendar 2022-23, the IBPS SO 2022 exam for Prelims will be conducted on December 24 and 31, 2022. The IBPS SO Mains 2022 is scheduled to take place on January 29, 2023. IBPS conducts the exam for Specialist Officers under various streams such as Law Officer, IT, Rajbhasha & Agriculture Field Officer (AFO). You can check all the details related to IBPS (SO) AFO exam on this page.
IBPS SO Final Results Out!! IBPS has released the IBPS SO AFO final results on April 01, 2022. The combined result of the IBPS SO AFO Main exam & Interview has been announced & candidates can check their results from April 01 – April 30, 2022.
IBPS SO (AFO) 2022 Highlights
| Conducting Authority | IBPS |
| Official Website | https://www.ibps.in/ |
| Name of the Posts | Specialist Officer (Assistant Field Officer) |
| Mode of application | Online |
| Stages of Exam | Three Stages-
|
| Maximum marks & Time duration |
|
| Online registration including Edit/Modification of Application by candidates 2022-23 | To be notified later |
| IBPS SO Prelims Exam Date 2022-23 | December 24 & 31, 2022 |
| IBPS SO Mains Exam Date 2022-23 | January 29, 2023 |
| IBPS Exam Calendar 2022-23 | [Click Here] |
| Number of Vacancies 2021 | 884 |
| Official Notification PDF 2021 | November 02, 2021 (Click Here) |
| IBPS SO Combined Result for Online Main Examination & Interview 2021 | April 01 to April 30, 2022 (Click Here) |
Notification
The official notification for IBPS SO 2022 has not been released yet. IBPS SO 2022 recruitment will contain all the details regarding the application process, fees, exam dates, etc. IBPS conducts the online examination for IBPS Specialist Officer 2022 for various posts like Agriculture Field Officer (AFO), IT Officer Scale I, Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari Scale I.
IBPS has finally announced the IBPS (SO) AFO Mains result!! Candidates can check their results now by entering their registration/roll number and password till February 21, 2022. The Mains examination was held on January 30, 2022.
Exam Pattern
It is extremely important to get in touch with all the relevant details such as the IBPS SO selection process that will help you in the preparation process. The IBPS SO 2022 exam for the post of Agriculture Field Officer (AFO) will be conducted in online mode. It will consist of three phases –
- Prelims
- Mains
- Interview
Both Prelims & Mains will be conducted online. There will be a negative marking of 1/4th of the marks allotted to each question. No marks will be deducted for an unanswered question.
Prelims Exam Pattern
Phase 1 or Prelims of IBPS (SO) AFO selection process will be an online objective test that will consist of three sections: English Language, Reasoning & Quantitative Aptitude. A total time of 2 hours will be allotted to IBPS AFO Prelims. The time will be divided into sectional timings of 40 minutes each. Both Reasoning & Quantitative Aptitude sections will be available in both English & Hindi. Check out the complete details below.
| S. No. | Name of test | Medium of Exam | No.of questions | Maximum Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English Language | English | 50 | 25 | 40 Minutes |
| 2 | Reasoning | English & Hindi | 50 | 50 | 40 Minutes |
| 3 | Quantitative Aptitude | English & Hindi | 50 | 50 | 40 Minutes |
| Total | 150 | 125 | 2 Hours |
Mains Exam Pattern
All the candidates who are able to clear Prelims will be called for IBPS (SO) AFO Mains. This phase will also be conducted in online mode. There will only be a single test in this phase that will test the ‘Professional Knowledge’ of the candidates. This section will have 60 questions and will carry 1 mark each. The questions will be available bilingually. The time limit will be 45 minutes.
| Name of the Test | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Medium of Exam | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional Knowledge | 60 | 60 | English & Hindi | 45 minutes |
Interview
Those who are able to qualify in IBPS (SO) AFO Mains, will be called for the final phase of the Interview. The Interview stage will carry 100 marks. Post Interview, the final scores will be obtained by taking both IBPS AFO Mains & Interview scores into consideration. The candidates who score high in merit will be shortlisted at last. The weightage given to the online exam with respect to the Interview will be 80:20. The minimum qualifying marks will be 40%.
Syllabus
An important aspect of exam preparation is knowing the syllabus. Before you start with your preparation, it will be extremely beneficial for you to take note of the IBPS SO exam syllabus 2022. The IBPS SO (AFO) Prelims will contain questions from QRE (Quants, Reasoning & English Language). Thus, you should first know what you actually need to cover with respect to each of the subjects. In IBPS AFO Mains, the knowledge in your specialized subject will be tested. Have a look at the detailed syllabus below.
| Agricultural Field Officer |
|---|
| Introduction to Agriculture & Crop: Seed Technology, Agriculture Economics, Agricultural Practices, Seasonal Crops (Rabi and Kharif) |
| Soil & Fertility: Soil Resources, Types of Soils in India, Physical Properties of these Soils |
| Manures & Fertilizers: Green Manures, Fertilizer – types, chemical composition |
| Cropping Scheme: Crop Rotation, Cropping System, Soil and Crop suitability, Climate and Crops |
| Irrigation: Sources and Methods of Irrigation, Problems related to Irrigation, Advanced Irrigational Facilities, Important Dams and Rivers that have played a major role in shaping Irrigational Activities |
| Rural Credit: Agriculture Insurance Schemes, Woman & Child Development Schemes, Role of RRBs, Agricultural Loans and Financing |
| Vegetable & Fruit Science: Crop Horticulture – Sowing Time & Spacing, Seed Rate, Important Varieties, Herbicides & Pesticides, Plant Diseases, Preservation and Types of Cropping Systems Fruits & Vegetables Preservation Methods |
| Weeds: Classification of weeds, Merits and Demerits, Weed Control |
| Surveying: Introduction to Surveying, Classification of Surveying, Benefits and Recent Surveys and Committees |
| Animal Husbandry: Classifications, Small Industries, Diseases and Causes, Breeding Dairy, Cattle Management, Small Scale Industries and Threats to them |
| Dairy: Cattle Management, Rearing |
| Botany: Plant Biotechnology, Agricultural Microbiology, Plant Physiology & Biochemistry, Soil Microbiology |
| Agriculture Engineering: Farm Machinery & Power, Food Processing, Agricultural Structure, Post Harvest Technology |
| Miscellaneous: Latest Developments, Recent Discoveries, Latest Bt Crops and related Research, Hybrid |
Exam Dates
IBPS conducts an online exam every year to recruit candidates for the posts of Specialist Officers in various fields like IT, Rajbhasha Adhikari, Agricultural Field Officer, Marketing Officer, Law Officer, and HR/ Personnel Officer. According to the official IBPS calendar 2022-23, the IBPS SO 2022 exam for Prelims will be conducted on December 24 and 31, 2022. The IBPS SO Mains 2022 is scheduled to take place on January 29, 2023. For further details on IBPS SO 2022 exam dates for AFO, please refer below.
IBPS SO Exam Dates 2022
| Events | Tentative Dates |
|---|---|
| Online registration including Edit/Modification of Application by Candidates 2022-23 | To be notified later |
| IBPS SO Prelims Commencement of Call letter Download 2022-23 | December 2022 onwards |
| IBPS SO Prelims Exam Dates 2022-23 | December 24 & 31, 2022 |
| IBPS SO Prelims Exam Result 2022-23 | To be notified later |
| Download of Call letter for Online exam – Mains 2022-23 | January 2023 onwards |
| IBPS SO Mains Exam Date 2022-23 | January 29, 2023 |
| IBPS SO Combined Result for Online Main Examination & Interview 2021 | April 01 to April 30, 2022 (Click Here) |
Salary
One of the reasons why IBPS SO is preferred by a lot of young individuals is, that along with the job security, it provides a handsome salary. An IBPS SO salary for AFO will come around to be approximately Rs 38800/-. An Agriculture Field Officer (AFO) posted in Scale I is also entitled to receive other allowances like House Rent Allowance, Dearness Allowance, Special Allowance, Travel Allowance, Medical expenses & also reimbursements for newspapers. The allowances may also be meant for entertainment, cleaning, petrol and mobile expenses.
| Post | Salary |
|---|---|
| Agriculture Field Officer (Scale I) |
|
Job Profile
After you get selected as an Agriculture Field Officer (AFO), you will have to perform a variety of duties, including fieldwork. The job can be highly challenging and interesting too. An IBPS AFO may have to take up many responsibilities. Some basic duties and responsibilities of an AFO are as follows.
- Disbursing loans to the farmers
- Reviewing agricultural loans
- Promoting rural financing
- Looking into crop failure cases
- Promoting bank’s products in rural areas, specifically among farmers
Vacancy
IBPS official notification 2022 mentioning the exam dates for all the online exams that are to be conducted for various posts this year has not been released yet. The number of vacancies in IBPS SO 2022 will be divided between general and reserved category. The number of vacancies released in IBPS SO 2021-22 was 1828 out of which 884 vacancies were reserved for the post of Agriculture Field Officer. We will update the IBPS SO 2022 vacancies for AFO as soon as the notification is out. Till then refer to the table below for IBPS SO 2021 recruitment vacancies.
| Bank | SC | ST | OBC | EWS | GEN | TOTAL | Out of Which | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HI | OC | VI | ID | |||||||
| Bank of Baroda | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Bank of India | 3 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 12 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bank of Maharashtra | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| CANARA Bank | 45 | 22 | 81 | 30 | 122 | 300 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Central Bank of India | 45 | 22 | 81 | 29 | 123 | 300 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Indian Bank | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Indian Overseas Bank | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Punjab & Sind Bank | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 0 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Punjab National Bank | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| UCO Bank | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Union Bank Of India | 27 | 13 | 42 | 38 | 140 | 260 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 120 | 58 | 210 | 99 | 397 | 884 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 |
Eligibility Criteria
IBPS had already released the exam calendar for the Specialist Officers’ recruitment process. Before you move on with the online application, you need to know whether you are eligible for the preferred post or not. To ensure successful completion, you need to know the complete IBPS SO eligibility criteria 2022.
Educational Criteria
Any aspirant who wishes to apply for the post of IBPS (SO) AFO, needs to possess the required educational qualification/s. A candidate who wishes to apply for the post of Agriculture Field Officer needs to possess a Graduate degree of 4 years in Agriculture or any of the other related discipline/s. To know which of the disciplines are permissible, check out the table given below.
| Post Code | Name of the Post | Educational Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| 02 | Agricultural Field Officer (Scale I) | 4 year Degree (graduation) in Agriculture/ Horticulture/Animal Husbandry/Veterinary Science/ Dairy Science/ Fishery Science/ Pisciculture/ Agri.Marketing & Cooperation/ Co-operation & Banking/ Agro-Forestry/Forestry/Agricultural Biotechnology/ Food Science/ Agriculture Business Management/Food Technology/ Dairy Technology/ Agricultural Engineering/ Sericulture |
Age Criteria
Adhering to the age criteria is equally necessary as possessing the requisite educational qualifications. To be eligible for the post of Agriculture Field Officer, you need to lie within the specified age limit. Read on to know the complete IBPS SO age limit 2022.
| Post Code | Name of the Post | Age |
|---|---|---|
| 02 | Agricultural Field Officer (Scale I) | Min- 20 Years / Max-30 Years |
Age Relaxation
IBPS provides certain age relaxation to reserved category candidates like SC/ST/OBC/EX servicemen. The relaxation in age varies within the reserved category. If you are eligible for the age relaxation, you should ensure that you have the necessary documents related to it when asked for verification. Complete details related to IBPS SO AFO age relaxation is provided below.
| Category | Age Relaxation |
|---|---|
| Other Backward Classes (OBC) (Non- creamy layer) | 3 years |
| Scheduled Caste / Scheduled Tribe | 5 years |
| Ex-Servicemen, Commissioned Officers including Emergency Commissioned Officers (ECOs)/ Short Service Commissioned Officers (SSCOs) who have rendered at least 5 years military service and have been released on completion of assignment (including those whose assignment is due to be completed within one year from the last date of receipt of application) otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or inefficiency or physical disability attributable to military service or invalidment | 5 years |
| Persons affected by 1984 riots | 5 years |
| Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PWBD) | 10 years |
How To Apply
In order to apply successfully for IBPS (SO) AFO exam, you should first go through the following step-by-step guide. The application form has to be filled through online mode. No other mode of application will be acceptable. Therefore, you need to fill in the application very carefully.
- Visit the official website of IBPS to apply for the exam
- Click on the ‘Click here for New Registration’ link
- Fill in details like name, date of birth, contact details, valid email ID and click on ‘Register’
- A Provisional Registration Number and Password will be generated
- An email and SMS on your registered email ID and a mobile number indicating the same will be sent
- Login again using these credentials to proceed with the IBPS SO AFO recruitment application process
- Fill in other details like academic qualification, work experience, preference exam center and others as asked
- Upload scanned images of your recent photograph, signature, thumb impression and handwritten declaration as per the specifications mentioned
- Go through all the details carefully and click on ‘Final Submit’ to proceed to the IBPS SO application fees
- Pay the application fee as per your category using a Credit/ Debit card, Net banking, Cash Card, Wallet, and IMPS option
- Take a print of the e-receipt of the online transaction and application form for future reference