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School of Agriculture

Faculty of Agriculture Forestry and Natural Environment

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Career Prospects for Graduates

Public sector

In the public sector, agronomists can find employment in a variety of bodies, such as the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, the Hellenic Food Authority (EFET), the Hellenic Agricultural Insurance Organization (ELGA), the Payment and Control Agency for Guidance and Guarantee Community Aid (OPEKEPE), and research centres such as ELGO-DIMITRA (Hellenic Agricultural Organization) and the Benaki Phytopathological Institute. They also work in public utility services, in local government organizations (municipalities, regions, development agencies), in local land-reclamation organizations, and in banking institutions. Finally, they can teach in secondary education schools, public and private Vocational Training Institutes (IEK) and vocational training centres.

Private sector

In the private sector, the paid employment of an agronomist, whether under a contract of dependent employment or a project/consultancy contract, is mandatory across a broad range of activities relating to agriculture, livestock farming, the food industry, natural resource management and rural development (PD 344/2000). These include, indicatively:

  • Large, well-established crop and livestock farms and enterprises (plant, animal or mixed production).
  • Cooperative organizations, producer groups and inter-professional organizations.
  • Cooperative or private enterprises producing and standardizing animal-feed mixtures, compound feeds, supplements and balancers.
  • Industries and units for the processing, transformation and management of agricultural products, of large capacity.
  • Enterprises producing organic products, integrated-management products and biotechnological applications.
  • Enterprises or agencies importing or exporting, producing, manufacturing and trading pesticides of every kind and biological-control products and fertilisers, as well as importing or exporting, producing and trading plant or animal propagating or nursery material of every kind, and also research work and experimental and demonstration applications.
  • Nurseries, greenhouses, beekeeping and sericulture units, and high-technology agricultural enterprises.
  • Certification bodies, quality-control laboratories and research centres.
  • Banks, organizations and companies that finance, study, or manage projects and investments in the agricultural sector.
  • Public bodies and private enterprises implementing Community or national programmes for rural and regional development.
  • The supply of agricultural machinery and the construction of agricultural installations, where the supply or construction is carried out through loans, subsidies or state programmes.
  • Expert appraisals, damage assessments and suitability certifications of agricultural products, animals, and materials.
  • Water-resource management projects, land-reclamation, irrigation and drainage works, environmental impact studies and the restoration of rural areas.
  • Studies and applications for the creation, management and aesthetic design of green spaces and green spaces and landscaping projects.
  • The drafting of programmes and studies for the development of farming and livestock holdings, ecotourism, environmental management, and spatial and urban planning.

Project Design and Implementation

The employment of a paid agronomist is mandatory in numerous cases involving the design and implementation of projects in the agricultural and livestock sectors (Presidential Decree 344/2000); these are summarized as follows: The participation of an agronomist is required in projects involving the development and construction of landscaping and irrigation works, water resource management, as well as in the organization and operation of agricultural and livestock facilities and industries that process agricultural and livestock products.

The agronomist also takes part in the study and management of waste, in the management of grazing land and the study of biotopes, and in drafting operational plans to maximize agricultural income and improve productivity. This includes the drafting and signing of studies for waste management (collection, treatment, disposal) at agricultural and livestock units, as well as monitoring the faithful implementation of these studies during the construction of the necessary installations and ensuring their proper operation.

In addition, the employment of an agronomist is necessary for drafting spatial, environmental and economic studies concerning the development and organization of rural areas, the design of green spaces, the protection of the environment and the use of modern technologies such as remote sensing and geographic information systems. The agronomist is also involved in studies to address erosion, harness renewable energy sources and assess the quality of irrigation water, thereby ensuring the sound management and sustainability of agricultural resources and infrastructure.