Leadership
Research Committee
Governing Board
West & Central Africa Program
Eastern & Southern Africa Program
Asia Program
Genetic Gains Program
Innovation Systems for the Drylands Program
CGIAR Research Program
Corporate
Honorary Fellows
Dr Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes
Director General
Dr Arvind Kumar
Deputy Director General – Research
Sanjay Agarwal
Assistant Director General
Angshu Sengupta
Deputy Director General – Corporate Services
Dr Rebbie Harawa
Regional Director Africa and Country Representative Kenya
Dr Victor Afari-Sefa
Global Research Program Director
Enabling Systems Transformation
Dr Sean Mayes
Global Research Program Director
Accelerated Crop Improvement
Dr Mangi Lal Jat
Global Research Program Director
Resilient Farm and Food Systems
Dr A Ashok Kumar
Interim Research Program Director, Asia
Principal Scientist – Product Placement Lead
Lydia Murimi
Director – Business Development
Ramon Peachey
Director – Communications
Kunal Sarkar
Director – Human Resources
Dr Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes
Director General
Dr Arvind Kumar
Deputy Director General – Research
Dr Rebbie Harawa
Regional Director Africa and Country Representative Kenya
Dr Victor Afari-Sefa
Global Research Program Director
Enabling Systems Transformation
Dr Sean Mayes
Global Research Program Director
Accelerated Crop Improvement
Dr Mangi Lal Jat
Global Research Program Director
Resilient Farm and Food Systems
Dr Kuldeep Singh
Cluster Leader – Genebank
Head
Dr Hakeem Ajeigbe
Country Representative – Nigeria
Principal Scientist
Dr Andre F van Rooyen
Country Representative – Ethiopia
Principal Scientist
Martin Philani Moyo
Deputy Program Director (RFFS), Country Representative – Zimbabwe
Cluster Leader – Climate Adaptation and Mitigation
Senior Scientist
Dr Mamta Sharma
Cluster Leader – Precision Phenotyping for biotic abiotic stresses & nutrition
Principal Scientist
Dr Shalander Kumar
Cluster Leader: Markets, Institutions and Policy
Dr D Hailemichael Shewayrga
Senior Scientist – Groundnut Breeding West & Central Africa Program
Baloua Nebie
Senior Scientist-Sorghum Breeding
Falalou Hamidou
Country Representative
Senior Scientist – Regional Genebank
Prakash I Gangashetty
Scientist – Pigeonpea Breeding
Bouba Traore
Scientist
Dr Ijantiku Ignatius Angarawai
Product Placement Lead
Folorunso Mathew Akinseye
Scientist – Agronomy & Agro Climatology
Dr NVPR Ganga Rao
Product Placement Lead
Dr Henry Fred Ojulong
Cluster Leader – Precision Phenotyping for biotic, abiotic stresses & nutrition
Senior Scientist
Dr Eric Manyasa
Product Placement Lead
Dr Akpo Essegbemon
Scientist – Seed systems specialist – HOPE ll and TL llI
Hapson Mushoriwa
Cluster Leader – Rapid Generation Advancement
Principal Scientist
Dr Rajan Sharma
Cluster Leader – Crop Protection & Seed Health
Principal Scientist
Dr Janila Pasupuleti
Cluster Leader – Crop Breeding
Principal Scientist – Groundnut Breeding
Dr A Ashok Kumar
Interim Research Program Director, Asia
Principal Scientist – Product Placement Lead
Dr Sobhan Babu Sajja
Cluster Leader – Crop Improvement Operations Team (CIOT),
Rapid Generation Advancement,
Senior Scientist
SK Gupta
Principal Scientist
Dr Hari Kishan Sudini
Cluster Leader – Crop Protection & Seed Health (CPSH)
Principal Scientist
Dr Raju Ghosh
Dr Jagdish Jaba
Scientist- Entmology
Dr G L Sawargaonkar
Senior Scientist (Agronomy)
Dr Mukund Dhavaji Patil
Senior Scientist – Soil Physics
Dr K H Anantha
Senior Scientist-Natural Resource Management
Kaushal K Garg
Senior Scientist-Natural Resource Management
Dr Aviraj Datta
Scientist-Wastewater Management
Prasad Jairam Kamdi
Manager – Watersheds
Dr Damaris A Odeny
Cluster Leader – Genomics, pre-breeding & Bioinformatics
Principal Scientist
Dr Rakesh K Srivastava
Senior Scientist – Chickpea Genomics Genomics & Trait Discovery
Dr Manish K Pandey
Senior Scientist – Groundnut Genomics
Ganesh Bapurao Patil
Special Project Scientist
Dr K Hima Bindu
Senior Scientist-Genomics and Molecular Breeding
Geoffrey Simiyu Muricho
Scientist – MLE Specialist
Dr Murali Krishna Gumma
Cluster Leader – Geospatial and Big Data Sciences
Principal Scientist
Dr S Nedumaran
Senior Scientist – Economics
Dr D Kumara Charyulu
Senior Scientist, Agricultural Economics
Dr R Padmaja
Cluster Leader – Knowledge and Capacity Development
Cluster Leader – Gender and Youth
Senior Scientist – Gender Research
Mequanint Biset Melesse
Cluster Leader – Technology Adoption and Impact Analysis
Senior Scientist
Dr Jana Kholova
Cluster Leader – Crop Physiology and Modelling
Senior Scientist
Sunita Choudhary
Scientist
Mohammed Irshad Ahmed
Manager – GIS, RS/GIS Lab
Saikat Datta Mazumdar
Cluster Leader Nutrition, Dietary Behavior and Smart Food
Chief Operating Officer NutriPlus Knowledge (NPK) Program Agribusiness and Innovation Platform (AIP)
Principal Scientist
Selvaraj Aravazhi
Cluster Leader – Agri Business Innovation Platform
Head – (Chief Executive Officer)
M Vetriventhan
Senior Scientist (Genetic Resources)
Pierre CS Traore
Responsible – Senegal
In – Business Researcher (Secondment)
Dr Ramesh Singh
CLUSTER LEADER – ICRISAT DEVELOPMENT CENTER
Principal Scientist – Soil and Water Conservation
Pushpajeet Lokpal Choudhari
Manager – CRAL
Dr Wricha Tyagi
Cluster Cell & Molecular Biology and Trait Engineering & Principal Scientist
James Mwololo
Scientist – Groundnut Improvement
Prof. Prabhu Pingali
Chair, ICRISAT Governing Board ,
Founding Director of the Tata-Cornell Institute and a Professor in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management
Prof. Prabhu Pingali is the Founding Director of the Tata-Cornell Institute and a Professor in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, with a joint appointment in the Division of Nutritional Sciences, in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University. Prior to joining Cornell University, he was the Deputy Director, Agriculture Development Division of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation from 2008-May 2013. Prof. Pingali was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences as a Foreign Fellow in May 2007. He was the President of the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE) from 2003-2006. He was elected Fellow of the American Agricultural Economics Association in 2006 and of the International Association of Agricultural Economists in 2009. Prof. Pingali has spent some time working with the CGIAR for 15 years from 1987-2002, first with IRRI in the Philippines and then with CIMMYT in Mexico.
Dr Himanshu Pathak
Vice Chair, ICRISAT Governing Board
Secretary of DARE and Director General of ICAR
Manoj Ahuja
Secretary of Agriculture, India
An Indian national, Manoj Ahuja is the Secretary of Agriculture, India. An IAS officer of the 1990-batch, Mr Ahuja served as the Chairman, Central Board of Secondary Education, Ministry of Education, in the rank of Secretary to Government of India. He holds a B.E (Mech.) Degree from Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, MBA from Punjab University, Chandigarh and Masters in Public Administration (International Development) from Harvard University, USA. He was appointed as ex officio member of the ICRISAT Board on April 1, 2022.
A Santhi Kumari
Ex officio Member of the Board, Chief Secretary of the State of Telangana
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Dr Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes
Director General
Dr Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes is a noted plant health expert. Before assuming charge as Director General at ICRISAT, Dr Hughes was Deputy Director General-Research at IRRI and before that, DDG-R at the World Vegetable Center. Her long association with CGIAR began when she moved from the UK to Ibadan, Nigeria, in the 90s to join IITA as a virologist. With vast experience in leading multidisciplinary teams in Asia and Africa, she is a recognized leader in international agriculture research and management.
Folasade Ogunde
Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee
Mrs. Folasade Ogunde graduated with a B.Sc (Hons) degree in Economics from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Currently, Ms Ogunde holds the position of Director at UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust. She joined the ICRISAT governing board in 2018.
She is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and an associate member of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA). She started her professional career with the firm of Deloitte Haskins & Sells (Chartered Accountants), where she gained accounting and audit experience, had a stint in treasury management before joining UAC of Nigeria Plc in 1997.
She has held such positions as Management Accountant, UAC Foods; Divisional Commercial Director, Mr. Bigg’s (now UAC Restaurants) and Group Treasurer, UAC of Nigeria Plc. She has attended senior management and leadership programmes at Ashridge Management College, UK; Cranfield University, UK and Havard Business School, USA.
She is also on the board of RT Briscoe Plc and Associate Member at International Facility Management Association. Ms Ogunde was also the Executive Director & Finance Director for UACN Property Development Plc, Commercial Director at UAC Foods Ltd. and Group Treasurer at UACN Plc.
Dr Yilma Kebede
Former Senior Program Officer- Global Development Program,
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Dr Yilma Kebede is a recognized leader in agricultural research and plant breeding, seasoned grant-maker and strategist with more than 30 years of experience implementing and funding agricultural and food security programs via foundations, national and international research centers, and private sector–most recently, successfully funding and managing small grains crop improvement, seed systems and African agricultural development portfolios at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. As an ICRISAT Research Fellow from 2017 to 2019, Dr Kebede supported implementation of breeding program assessment recommendations for ICRISAT mandate crops (Sorghum, Millet, Chick pea, Pigeon pea and Groundnuts).
Under the Global Development Program of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, he served as Senior Program Officer from 2008 to 2016. He spent almost two decades with DuPont Pioneer Hi-Bred International (now Corteva) in research.
Dr Kebede completed PhD in Plant Breeding in Texas A&M University, Texas, USA, and Master of Science in Crop Physiology in University of Guelph, Canada.
He is currently a member of AGRA-PASS Advisory Council. He was also a member of Steering Committee, Dryland Cereals CRP (CGIAR).
Dr Kebede is Ethiopian-American.
Prof. Yaye Kene Gassama
Professor in plant biotechnology at Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (UCAD), Senegal
Prof. Gassama is a Senegalese national and Professor in plant biotechnology at Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (UCAD), Senegal. She is a well-known scientist and has held high ranking positions in the academia, governance and policymaking. She was Senegal’s Minister of Scientific Research in 2005 and chaired African Union’s high level panel on emerging technologies in 2017.
Dr. Jim Godfrey
Director and Chair of the UK’s National Institute of Agricultural Botany
Dr. Godfrey is a distinguished research leader and was the Chair of IRRI’s Board of Trustees. He is a UK national and has been associated with several leading research institutions. Dr. Godfrey is the Director and Chair of the UK’s National Institute of Agricultural Botany.
Dr. Godfrey was the President of the Royal Agricultural Society of England during 2018-2019. He has been appointed to several Boards and has chaired many of them, including those of CGIAR centers. His association with CGIAR pans several years, as former Chair of CIP (2000-2008) and that of the Alliance of 15 CGIAR centers (2006-2007). He also chaired the CGIAR Board Orientation and Training Program and organized annual courses throughout the world to train over 400 trustees.
Ms. Cathy Reade
Director of Outreach at the Crawford Fund
Ms. Reade, an Australian national, is the Director of Outreach at the Crawford Fund. She spent her early career working for a range of advocacy groups and, in addition to establishing the public awareness program for the Crawford Fund, Ms. Reade’s consultancy concentrated in the not-for-profit sector around agriculture, development, S&T and environment policy, issues and events. She also developed and manages a master class in communications for scientists in developing countries, and directs the Fund’s NextGen suite of activities. Ms Reade was on the Board and Executive Committee of the World Vegetable Center from 2014-2019, and chaired their Nominations Committee.
The Alliance of CGIAR Centers recognized her contributions with a special award in 2007.
Bonnie McClafferty
former Director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition’s (GAIN) Agriculture for Nutrition Global Program
Bonnie McClafferty, former Director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition’s (GAIN) Agriculture for Nutrition Global Program, has a rich background as an agriculturalist evidenced by her more than twenty years’ experience working in agricultural research and development. She was previously appointed as Chief of Party, USAID.
Bonnie holds a Bachelor of Science in Agronomy from Cornell University and Master’s degrees in Public Policy and Public Administration from the University of Virginia.
Regine Andersen
Research Director, Biodiversity and Natural Resources, Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI)
A Norway national, Dr Regine Andersen’s main research interests are within the fields of international and national governance of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Her work examined the interaction of multilateral environmental and economic agreements relating to the governance of crop genetic resources and how this affects political priorities and action at the national level. Dr Andersen’s focus have been on developing countries, as well as considerable work on the situation in Europe. The implementation of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture is at the core her research, and in this context, particular effort is on implementation of the Treaty’s provisions on farmers’ rights.
Since may 2020, Dr Andersen held the position as Research Director, Biodiversity and Natural Resources, Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI); she is also currently sitting as Member of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Farmers’ Rights under the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. In her past engagements, she held the position as Executive Director, Oikos – Organic Norway (January 2013 – May 2017), Chair of the Committee on regulations related to organic production and marketing of organic products under the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (2014 – 2017), Chair of the Board of the Rainforest Foundation Norway (2006 – 2012), Executive Officer, Carl Duisberg Gesellschaft, Unit for Environment and Resource Management, Berlin (1992 – 93).
Dr Andersen has an impressive line-up of publications focusing on plant genetics and farmers rights to crop genetic resources. She obtained her PhD in University of Oslo
Renerose Tan Ng
Governing Board Secretary, and Advisor, Governance and Compliance
Ms. Ng is a Governance Professional with more than a decade of solid experience in governance and board and multi stakeholder relations in both private and not-for-profit organizations. An advocate of value-shared governance, her work experience focused on Advisory, Legal Administration, Corporate Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance. She joined ICRISAT in 2016 when she was appointed as Secretary of the Governing Board, and Advisor, Governance and Compliance. In her past career, she collaborated in the regions of Asia Pacific and Europe for Risk and Compliance projects, KYC and AMLA, and was a certified Local Security Officer for ISO 27000:2013 (lead implementer) in 2015.
A two-time recipient of Diligent’s ‘Modern Governance 100’ award, she was part of the top 100 governance professionals globally in year 2020 and 2022 who championed the ability for board members and executives to collaborate quickly and securely to get things done effectively and to move at the speed of the business.
Dr Hakeem Ajeigbe
Country Representative – Nigeria
Principal Scientist
Dr D Hailemichael Shewayrga
Senior Scientist – Groundnut Breeding West & Central Africa Program
Agathe Diama
Head-Regional Information – WCA
Ms Agathe Diama is a Sociologist and Anthropologist by training (University of Bamako, Mali). She holds a specialized MBA in Communication (Technolab ISTA/ESG Paris) and a diploma in journalism (Institut Jesse Louis Jackson).
Baloua Nebie
Senior Scientist-Sorghum Breeding
Omonlola Nadine Worou
Program Manager
Issaka Yougbare
Regional Administrative Manage
Falalou Hamidou
Country Representative
Senior Scientist – Regional Genebank
Dr Ijantiku Ignatius Angarawai
Product Placement Lead
Dr Rebbie Harawa
Regional Director Africa and Country Representative Kenya
Dr Rebbie Harawa is an agricultural research and development expert with extensive work experience across Africa. Before joining ICRISAT, she worked for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa as Head of the Soil Fertility and Fertilizer Systems program based in Nairobi, Kenya. Previous positions include Country Team Leader and Science Coordinator for United Nations Development Programme Millennium Villages Project and On-farm Research Specialist for World Agroforestry (ICRAF) in Malawi. Rebbie holds a PhD in Soil Science with minor in Extension from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA and a Master of Science Degree in Agronomy from Bunda College of Agriculture, University of Malawi.
Specialization: Soil Science, Agronomy, Agricultural Extension, Climate Smart Agriculture, Sustainable Food Systems and Program Management.
Martin Philani Moyo
Deputy Program Director (RFFS), Country Representative – Zimbabwe
Cluster Leader – Climate Adaptation and Mitigation
Senior Scientist
Dr Eric Manyasa
Product Placement Lead
Dr NVPR Ganga Rao
Product Placement Lead
Dr Henry Fred Ojulong
Cluster Leader – Precision Phenotyping for biotic, abiotic stresses & nutrition
Senior Scientist
James Mwololo
Scientist – Groundnut Improvement
Dr Akpo Essegbemon
Scientist – Seed systems specialist – HOPE ll and TL llI
Hapson Mushoriwa
Cluster Leader – Rapid Generation Advancement
Principal Scientist
Dr Andre F van Rooyen
Country Representative – Ethiopia
Principal Scientist
André F. van Rooyen is Principal Scientist specializing in crop-livestock systems in the research program on Innovation Systems for Drylands (ISD), at ICRISAT, based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Holds a PhD from the University of Kwa-Zulu, Natal, South Africa. Uses complex adaptive systems (CAS) characteristics to analyze system functionality and explore opportunities to improve and develop more diverse and integrated agricultural systems. Working in both dryland and irrigation systems where cereal crops, legumes and livestock complement each another, utilizes Innovation Platforms, working with a diverse range of value chain players, to increase on-farm production and improved market integration. Work is based on the hypotheses that integrated agricultural systems, linked to functional markets, increase land, labor and water productivity, resulting in increased system efficiency and environmental sustainability, while providing routes out of poverty for small scale farmers.
Dr Samuel M C Njoroge
Country Representative – Malawi
Senior Scientist – Legume / Cereal Pathology
Macdonald Bright Jumbo
Interim Country Representative
Cluster Leader – Crop Improvement Operations Team – CIOT Operations
Senior Scientist- Sorghum Breeding
Dr Rajan Sharma
Cluster Leader – Crop Protection & Seed Health
Principal Scientist
Dr Rajan Sharma is a Principal Scientist and the Leader of the Crop Protection and Seed Health Cluster, Global Research Program on Accelerated Crop Improvement at ICRISAT Headquarters based in Hyderabad, India. His core competencies include monitoring the virulence spectrum of plant pathogens; development of PCR-compatible markers and their use in genetic diversity assessment and mapping of avirulence genes; elucidating molecular basis of host-pathogen interaction; identification and utilization of resistance sources for disease management; development of diagnostic protocols and salvaging techniques for infested/infected germplasm. He has guided over 10 MSc and PhD students, mentored many researchers and PDFs, and organized training/capacity building programs for NARS in Asia and Africa.
Expertise in: Host plant resistance, virulence characterization, phenotyping, fungal genomics, epidemiology, seed pathology, integrated disease management
Suresh C Pillay
Cluster Leader – Farm & Engineering Services
General Manager
Suresh C Pillay is Head of Farm & Engineering Services, Research Program-Asia, and is based at ICRISAT, Hyderabad. He has been working with ICRISAT since the last 29 years.
He holds a BSc in Agricultural Engineering from Allahabad University, India. Prior to joining ICRISAT Pillay had a brief stint with Southern Region Farm Machinery Testing & Training Institute (SRFMT&TI), a Government of India organization involved in testing farm machinery and equipment and training progressive farmers/entreprenuers in mechanized farming.
Dr Sobhan Babu Sajja
Cluster Leader – Crop Improvement Operations Team (CIOT),
Rapid Generation Advancement,
Senior Scientist
C Buchappa
Head- Farm & Engineering Services
Dr Damaris A Odeny
Cluster Leader – Genomics, pre-breeding & Bioinformatics
Principal Scientist
Damaris Odeny is a plant molecular breeder with research experience in Africa, Asia, Europe and USA. She has led and implemented genomics projects in both cereals and legumes, including the development of genomic resources in several orphan crops. Damaris works closely with other disciplines from national, private and international institutes to develop cutting-edge genomic resources for all ICRISAT mandate crops (sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet, groundnut, chickpea and pigeonpea) in her current global role. Prior to this, she worked as a senior researcher at the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), South Africa, where she played a key role in establishing molecular breeding processes for indigenous vegetables. Damaris is also passionate about mentoring of young upcoming scientists and has successfully mentored more than 50 scientists in her career to date.
Areas of expertise: Qualitative and quantitative genetics; Genetic mapping; Pre-breeding; Plant genetic engineering; Mutation breeding; Statistical genomics; High throughput genotyping and marker development; Next-Generation Sequencing and data analysis; Transcriptome analysis; Metagenomics
Ganesh Bapurao Patil
Special Project Scientist
Geoffrey Simiyu Muricho
Scientist – MLE Specialist
Rajaguru Bohar
HTPG Project Coordinator
Genomics & Trait Discovery
Genetic Gains Program
Dr Akpo Essegbemon
Scientist – Seed systems specialist – HOPE ll and TL llI
Martin Philani Moyo
Deputy Program Director (RFFS), Country Representative – Zimbabwe
Cluster Leader – Climate Adaptation and Mitigation
Senior Scientist
Dr Murali Krishna Gumma
Cluster Leader – Geospatial and Big Data Sciences
Principal Scientist
Murali Krishna Gumma is Cluster Leader and Principal Scientist: Geospatial & Big Data Sciences and Head of Remote Sensing/Geographic Information System unit with ICRISAT, working across Asia and Africa. He is also Science and Data Lead for SERVIR West Africa Phase II supporting AGRHYMET and partners in improving awareness and access to geospatial data, products, and tools through appropriate platforms. Prior to this, he was a Remote Sensing Specialist and PDF at IRRI and a project scientist with IWMI. Murali Krishna has over 23 years’ experience in remote sensing and geographic information systems and their application to agriculture, wetlands, river basin management, natural resource management, water resources, forests, sustainable development, and environmental studies. His work experience spans over 35 countries spread across Asia and Africa. He is currently working on Monitoring croplands and natural resources using Earth observation data and Machine learning algorithms; Typology of crop production environments to identify factors causing yield gaps and classifying those areas with spatial data; Identification of hotspots and endemic areas based on disease and pest dynamics in space and time and related epidemiology with the help of geo-spatial techniques; IOT-based platforms and high-resolution remote sensing imagery to link proximal field phenotype; Crop stresses and biophysical parameters extraction using Multispectral, Hyperspectral image analysis and spectral matching techniques; Crop yield prediction using technology and different algorithms considering various parameters like weather, soil and crop management data; Historical climate change analysis and forecasting the changes that affects the crop conditions (crop rotation, crop intensity); Conducting impact assessment studies using Geospatial analysis and supporting multidisciplinary teams across ICRISAT using multi-resolution remote sensing and GIS spatial modelling.
My expertise: Remote sensing and geographic information systems
Dr Andre F van Rooyen
Country Representative – Ethiopia
Principal Scientist
André F. van Rooyen is Principal Scientist specializing in crop-livestock systems in the research program on Innovation Systems for Drylands (ISD), at ICRISAT, based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Holds a PhD from the University of Kwa-Zulu, Natal, South Africa. Uses complex adaptive systems (CAS) characteristics to analyze system functionality and explore opportunities to improve and develop more diverse and integrated agricultural systems. Working in both dryland and irrigation systems where cereal crops, legumes and livestock complement each another, utilizes Innovation Platforms, working with a diverse range of value chain players, to increase on-farm production and improved market integration. Work is based on the hypotheses that integrated agricultural systems, linked to functional markets, increase land, labor and water productivity, resulting in increased system efficiency and environmental sustainability, while providing routes out of poverty for small scale farmers.
Dr Shalander Kumar
Cluster Leader: Markets, Institutions and Policy
Dr Shalander Kumar is presently the Deputy Global Research Program Director of the Enabling systems transformation program and cluster leader of the Markets, Institutions and Policies cluster at ICRISAT, Hyderabad, India. He is an Indian national and a FELLOW of National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) and on the Executive Committee of the Global Food and Climate Systems Transformation Alliance led by MIT. Dr Kumar has doctoral degree in agricultural economics, Advance course on Development Oriented Research in Agriculture’ at ICRA, WAGENINGEN and more than 29 years of experience working in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Current focus of his work is on data-driven systems approaches for scaling climate-smart and nutrition sensitive agricultural value chains and food systems; tools and frameworks for co-designing resilient and sustainable farm and food systems; and policies relevant studies and advocacy around seed systems, agri-business opportunities, climate adaptation and mainstreaming millets.
Expertise in: Agricultural economics, farming systems analysis, whole farm modelling and tradeoff analysis, climate change impact and risk management strategies, innovation systems approach for co-designing sustainable intesification of farming systems
Mequanint Biset Melesse
Cluster Leader – Technology Adoption and Impact Analysis
Senior Scientist
Dr Mequanint B Melesse is a Senior Scientist at ICRISAT, based in Nairobi, Kenya. Currently, Mequanint leads the Technology Adoption and Impact Analysis Cluster under the Enabling Systems Transformation Global Research Program. He holds a PhD in Development Economics from Wageningen University and a research master (MSc, cum laude) degree in Economics and Business from the University of Groningen (both in Netherlands).
Prior to joining ICRISAT, he has held a post-doctoral researcher position at the Development Economics Group, Wageningen University. Mequanint has had extensive research and field experience, led several large-scale household surveys in Africa, and managed research projects. With a focus on agricultural and rural development in the drylands, his main research interests are in the fields of agricultural and development economics, including technology needs assessment and (dis)adoption, causal impact analysis, impact scaling approaches and strategies for agricultural innovations, sustainable food systems, consumer behavior and market research, analysis of roles of research and policy in promoting systems transformations, and technological innovations in data science for data-driven agriculture. His research uses a variety of quantitative and qualitative approaches, including framed experiments and games, quasi-experimental approaches, randomized evaluations and non-experimental approaches.
Expertise in: Technology needs assessment and (dis)adoption, causal impact analysis, rural livelihood, sustainable food systems, consumer behavior and market research, market segments and product profiles, farm household analysis, impact scaling approaches and strategies for agricultural innovations, data-driven agriculture and project development
Dr Jana Kholova
Cluster Leader – Crop Physiology and Modelling
Senior Scientist
Jana Kholová is Senior Scientist with the theme System Analysis for Climate Smart Agriculture (SACSA) at ICRISAT, based in Hyderabd/India. With the PhD in Genetics from Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, with specialization in plant genetics and physiology. Her core competencies include dissection of environment-adaptive traits and translating them into high-throughput phenotyping methods, using system modelling tools to characterize target environments and predict the effect of adaptive traits in target agro-ecologies. She is currently coordinating multiple research projects, has published ~ 29 articles (H-index of 14) and has citations exceeding 650 (2017).
My expertise: Integration of interdiciplinary research to enhance the cropping systems production improvement; plant stress physiology, modelling, genetics, phenotyping, plant nutrition, biochemistry and molecular biology.
Purushotham Rudraraju
Manager – Agribusiness
Yogendra Kalenahalli
Scientist
Dr Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes
Director General
Dr Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes is a noted plant health expert. Before assuming charge as Director General at ICRISAT, Dr Hughes was Deputy Director General-Research at IRRI and before that, DDG-R at the World Vegetable Center. Her long association with CGIAR began when she moved from the UK to Ibadan, Nigeria, in the 90s to join IITA as a virologist. With vast experience in leading multidisciplinary teams in Asia and Africa, she is a recognized leader in international agriculture research and management.
Dr Arvind Kumar
Deputy Director General – Research
Dr Arvind Kumar is an experienced crop scientist with more than 28 years’ experience in crop improvement, trait discovery to drought tolerance, disease- insect resistance and translational research. As Deputy Director General- Research, he leads and provides strategic direction to ICRISAT research in the area of climate resilience, nutrition, crop improvement, genomics-trait development, crops-water-soil-disease management, policy, agribusiness, market linkages and capacity development for ICRISAT-mandated crops grown mostly in the semi-arid regions of the world.
He has a PhD from Indira Gandhi Agricultural University, Raipur- International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, in plant breeding and post-doctoral training from the International Rice Research Institute, Philippines, on molecular breeding.
Expertise in: Project planning, management and strategy development, molecular breeding for crop improvement, translation research and climate resilience
Sanjay Agarwal
Assistant Director General
Angshu Sengupta
Deputy Director General – Corporate Services
Mr. Angshu Sengupta was the Director of Finance, Risk & Legal at IRRI before he joined ICRISAT. In a career spanning 32 years, Mr. Sengupta worked 13 years in manufacturing, 15 in IT enabled services, two years in international consulting and two years in a non-profit research organization. He has shouldered the responsibilities of a CFO for about 8 years in his career. Mr. Sengupta has worked in GE Capital, GE Healthcare, GE Lighting, Vodafone, Countrywide Financial Corporation / Bank of America, Tata Consultancy Services, ACC Cements and Dunlop amongst other organizations.
Mr. Sengupta is a strategic business partner and out-of-the-box thinker, with successes in business transformation, process redesign for better control and productivity using Six Sigma tools, start-up operations, business/entity restructuring, P&L management, stakeholder management, cost control, risk management, compliance, margin improvement and working capital improvement. He is known for his deliberate and focused approach in leading global multi-cultural teams for reaching business goals.
Betty Sarah Carreon
General Manager Global Finance
Ms. Betty Sarah Carreon is a catalyst, strategist, steward and innovator with decades of experience across the finance functions of international non-profit organizations, and a seasoned professional who understands and speaks the language of both the business and its people.
She is a CPA, and a finance leader with specialization in the areas of finance business partnering, management reporting, grants management, treasury, financial operations, risk management, business intelligence, and project management.
Lydia Murimi
Director – Business Development
Ramon Peachey
Director – Communications
Tahira Natalie Carter
Communications Lead
Kunal Sarkar
Director – Human Resources
Mr Kunal Sarkar is an accomplished professional with more than 17 years of experience across several verticals of strategic Human Resource Management — talent acquisition, compensation and benefits, performance management, talent management, ethics and safeguarding, employee engagement, global mobility and organization development — in telecom, pharmaceutical, IT and ITeS, and agricultural research. Kunal has been in global leadership roles in multicultural and multidisciplinary work environments in Asia, ANZ and Africa, where he has successfully led HR initiatives to support cultural harmonization and drive change.
Amit Chakravarty
Chief of Staff
Arindam Bose
Head – Purchase, Supplies and Disposal Services
Rajeev Dhungel
Head – Information Technology and Systems
Dr Kuldeep Singh
Cluster Leader – Genebank
Head
Falalou Hamidou
Country Representative
Senior Scientist – Regional Genebank
A Vani
Senior Manager – Housing and Food Services
Surya Mani Tripathi
Head – Legal Services
Surya Mani Tripathi, is Legal Counsel at ICRISAT, Hyderabad.
He holds a law degree (LLB) from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, carried out with a Microsoft IPR scholarship. He also holds a PhD, realized with a CSIR fellowship and an international fellowship provided by UNIDO and the Government of Italy.
He is a registered lawyer in India, and is engaged in the management of legal and regulatory issues pertaining to operations and research of ICRISAT, along with legislative advocacy and statutory compliances. His areas of work include legal drafting, legal risk management, international law, legal compliances and advisory, contracts and project negotiations, IP portfolio analysis and licensing, bio-prospecting, TK and biodiversity, and biotech research regulatory norms. As a techno-legal expert and solicitor, he is also facilitating the transfer of agricultural technologies and IPR commercialization. He has several publications, including book chapters.
Agathe Diama
Head-Regional Information – WCA
Ms Agathe Diama is a Sociologist and Anthropologist by training (University of Bamako, Mali). She holds a specialized MBA in Communication (Technolab ISTA/ESG Paris) and a diploma in journalism (Institut Jesse Louis Jackson).
Arun Balamatti
Senior Manager – Visitor Services and Protocol Management
Dr Hari Kishan Sudini
Cluster Leader – Crop Protection & Seed Health (CPSH)
Principal Scientist
Dr. Hari Kishan Sudini is a Principal Scientist (Groundnut Pathology) in the Global Research Program-Accelerated Crop Improvement. Dr. Sudini is also the Head of Science Quality & Strategy Unit at ICRISAT.
Dr. Sudini, an Indian national, earned his B. Sc. (Agricultural Sciences) and M.Sc. (Agriculture) from Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Andhra Pradesh, India. And then he went to USA to pursue his doctoral studies and obtained his Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Auburn University, Alabama, USA. Dr. Hari Kishan Sudini joined in International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in December 2009 and since then he is working for ICRISAT in various capacities.
Lakshmi Pillay
Manager – Business Development and Partnerships
Ovais Hamid Peerzada
Manager – Genebank Quality Manager
Senthil Ramachandran
Manager – Germplasm Conservation
S Vinaykanth
Resident Medical Doctor – Field Medical Unit
Anjaneya Sunil Kumar Pabbathi
Manager – Treasury & Operations
Appan Parida
Manager – MIS & Accounts
Muzamil Baig
Manager – Genebank Quality Manager
Honorary Fellows