NCERT
Class 8 Science — Crop Production and Management
Crop seasons, sowing, irrigation and storage.
Exam resources
IBPS Specialist Officer: Agricultural Field Officer (Scale I) 2026
Notification OutIBPS recruits Agricultural Field Officers for public sector banks every year. Food Science, Food Technology and Dairy Technology graduates are eligible, and the merit list comes from the Mains Professional Knowledge test, which is mostly agriculture with a smaller share of post-harvest, food processing and dairy.
The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) recruits Agricultural Field Officers (Scale I) for public sector banks through its yearly Common Recruitment Process for Specialist Officers. The 2026 process (CRP SPL-XVI, for vacancies of 2027-28) lists 370 AFO posts at Indian Bank, Bank of Baroda and Bank of Maharashtra. Selection is a Prelims of four qualifying tests, a Mains whose merit list uses only the 50-question Professional Knowledge test, and an interview, with Mains and interview weighted 80:20. The Professional Knowledge test is agriculture-wide; a food technology graduate is eligible but must also prepare agronomy, soils, horticulture, animal husbandry, extension and agricultural economics.
- Conducted by
- Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS), Mumbai, for the participating public sector banks
Who can apply
For CRP SPL-XVI an AFO needs a 4-year degree in agriculture or a listed allied subject, which includes Food Science, Food Technology, Dairy Science and Dairy Technology, and must be 20 to 30 years old on 01.07.2026.
- Qualification (as on 21.07.2026): 4-year degree in Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, Veterinary Science, Dairy Science, Fishery Science, Pisciculture, Agri. Marketing and Cooperation, Co-operation and Banking, Agro-Forestry, Forestry, Agricultural Biotechnology, B.Tech Biotechnology, Food Science, Agriculture Business Management, Food Technology, Dairy Technology, Agricultural Engineering, Sericulture or Fisheries Engineering
- Age: 20 to 30 years as on 01.07.2026, with the usual relaxations for reserved categories
- Application fee: Rs 850; Rs 175 for SC/ST/PwBD
- 2026 vacancies: 370 AFO posts (Indian Bank 180, Bank of Baroda 100, Bank of Maharashtra 90) after the 20.07.2026 update
- Interview: 100 marks, minimum 40% (35% for SC/ST/OBC/PwBD); final merit Mains 80 : interview 20
A summary. Confirm the details in the current notice.
Source: IBPS CRP SPL-XVI detailed notification ↗. Source: IBPS updated vacancies as on 20.07.2026 ↗. Checked 2026-10-30.
Based on past papers, not an official scheme. Confirm in the current notice.
Every section is compulsory, with no choice between them, and the paper is timed at 40 minutes.
| Section | Questions | Marks | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional Knowledge (Agriculture) | 50 | 100 | Compulsory |
| Paper total | — | 100 |
Mock tests cover the Mains Professional Knowledge test only: 50 questions, 2 marks each, 40 minutes, five options, a quarter of the question's marks lost for a wrong answer. In the real Mains this test sits with English (30), Reasoning (40) and Quantitative Aptitude (30), which are qualifying only, and a 25-mark descriptive English paper; the merit list uses the Professional Knowledge score alone, and Mains and interview are then weighted 80:20.
Marking scheme
2 marks for a correct answer; a wrong answer loses one quarter of the question's marks (0.5). Unanswered questions carry no penalty. An unanswered question scores zero. Our mocks for this exam are scored the same way.
Source: IBPS CRP SPL-XVI detailed notification (01.07.2026), sections D and E ↗
Free PDFs and recommended books for IBPS AFO (Agricultural Field Officer). How we choose
Free PDFs
12 free PDFsAgriculture
NCERT
Class 10 Geography — Agriculture
Indian cropping patterns, major crops and agricultural reforms.
TNAU
Crop Production Guide — Horticulture Crops (2020)
The official package of practices for fruits, vegetables and spices.
Processing & preservation
FSSAI
Manual of Methods of Analysis of Foods — Cereal and Cereal Products (2022)
Official analytical methods for cereals and flours.
FSSAI · FoSTaC
FoSTaC Manual — Special (Level 2), Bakery
Bakery process hygiene and hazards as FSSAI sets them out.
NCERT
Class 12 Human Ecology & Family Sciences — Food Processing and Technology
A plain-language overview of preservation and processing.
NIOS
Home Science (321), Lesson 9 — Food Preservation
Household and basic industrial preservation principles.
Dairy technology
FSSAI
Manual of Methods of Analysis of Foods — Milk and Milk Products
Official laboratory methods for milk analysis and adulteration tests.
FAO
Milk and Dairy Products in Human Nutrition
Milk composition, nutrition and the place of dairy in diets.
Food microbiology
OpenStax · Rice University
Microbiology (OpenStax)
A complete, peer-reviewed university microbiology textbook.
NCERT
Class 12 Biology — Microbes in Human Welfare
Microbes in curd, cheese, bread and fermentation.
NCERT
Class 8 Science — Microorganisms: Friend and Foe
Food spoilage, preservation and pathogens at a very basic level.
Exam-specific preparation
1 resourceMCQ practice
An objective agriculture question bank for AFO and ICAR-level exams
Agriculture MCQs across all units, useful drill for the 50-question test.
Reading suggestion
Core food science
5 resourcesCore agriculture
Handbook of Agriculture (ICAR)
The single ICAR reference that covers agronomy, soils, horticulture.
Reading suggestion
Agronomy
Principles of Agronomy by T. Yellamanda Reddy and G. H. Sankara Reddi
Crop production, cropping systems, weeds, irrigation and dryland farming.
Reading suggestion
Soil science
Introductory Soil Science by D. K. Das
Soil properties, fertility, nutrients and fertilisers.
Reading suggestion
Core food technology
Textbook of Food Science and Technology (ICAR)
Post-harvest handling, storage and processing of crops, milk and meat.
Reading suggestion
Agricultural economics
Agricultural Marketing in India by S. S. Acharya and N. L. Agarwal
Marketing, credit, cooperation and price policy questions.
Reading suggestion
Full topic list and section weightage IBPS AFO (Agricultural Field Officer) syllabus and exam pattern
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