India, Oct. 22 -- State agricultural colleges are facing a sharp decline in admissions this year, raising concerns about the future of the state's once-promising agricultural education sector. According to official data, nearly 3,000 seats in undergraduate agriculture and allied courses across Maharashtra have remained vacant, and several colleges are now facing the risk of closure due to poor response from students.

The latest admission data from the State Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell shows that out of 16,829 available seats in agriculture-related undergraduate courses including agricultural engineering, food technology, biotechnology, community science, forestry, and horticulture only 13,892 have been filled this year. This leaves a...