The role of an IBPS Agricultural Field Officer (AFO) and an ICAR Administrative Officer (AO) differs significantly in terms of responsibilities, work environment, and objectives. An IBPS AFO is a specialist officer in public sector banks, primarily responsible for promoting agricultural loans, financial products, and schemes to farmers and rural businesses. Their duties include evaluating loan applications, conducting field visits, liaising with farmers and agribusinesses, and ensuring proper credit disbursement under government schemes like Kisan Credit Card (KCC) and NABARD initiatives. On the other hand, an ICAR AO is a managerial and administrative role within the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), responsible for overseeing human resource management, procurement, budgeting, policy implementation, and coordination among research institutions under ICAR. Unlike IBPS AFOs, who work in rural field settings, ICAR AOs are mainly based in offices and focus on policy execution and institutional administration rather than direct engagement with farmers. While both roles contribute to the agriculture sector, IBPS AFOs work at the grassroots level to facilitate credit and financial inclusion, whereas ICAR AOs handle organizational management and research administration to support agricultural development at a macro level. Stay updated with C4S Courses.