Prof Prabhu Pingali Inducted into National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, India

Noted agriculture economist, Prof Prabhu Pingali who was earlier elected to India’s National Academy of Agricultural Sciences as a Pravasi (Expatriate) Fellow, has been inducted into Academy on July 21, 2020. Prof Pingali, the Founding Director of the Tata-Cornell Institute and a Professor in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University was also elected as a Fellow of the Academy in 2019 after a multi-level process following his nomination by an existing distinguished Fellow plus review process conducted by Sectional Committees.  

An internationally renowned Agricultural Economist with highly acclaimed research accomplishments, Prof Prabhu Pingali has made seminal contributions to agricultural economics research in the areas of technology change and adoption, the impact of pesticides on the environment and health, diet change and nutrition, and foresight studies. Previously, he has also been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences as a Foreign Associate in recognition of his research contributions. He was also elected as the President of the International Association of Agricultural Economists and Fellow of the American Association of Agricultural Economists.

As an apex body of agriculture sciences in India, members are elected to NAAS in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. The main objective of the Academy is to recognize and support excellence in agricultural science, research, technologies and innovations. The outstanding achievements and sustained significant contributions to agricultural sciences are the determining criteria for electing Fellows in different subject matter areas. Pravasi Fellowship of the Academy is accorded to Persons of Indian origin (PIO) or Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) who are eminent for their knowledge and contributions to agricultural science, and have contributed or can contribute to the progress of science in India. 

Crediting his students and collaborators across the world for making the science happen, Prof Pingali said, “Thanks to all my terrific students, research fellows, postdocs and collaborators who have jointly contributed immensely in achieving the desired results in our research studies. My gratitude to existing NAAS members for reposing their faith in me. It is an honor to be a part of the Academy and I hope the platform helps me even more in contributing to India’s agricultural growth to the best of my knowledge and capabilities.”  

Moreover, Prof Pingali has published 13 books and over 120 journal articles and book chapters. His work has been cited approximately 24,000 times in the academic literature, and has influenced the national food and agricultural policy and donor funding of several developing nations. He has also held senior management positions in the CGIAR System, FAO, and Gates Foundation.

As the Founding Director of the Tata-Cornell Institute at Cornell University, Prabhu Pingali leads TCI’s long-term research initiative that is focused on addressing the chronic problems of rural poverty and malnutrition in India and identifying food and agriculture-based solutions that can create transformative change. Prof Pingali’s latest book, in collaboration with his Post-Doctoral Fellows, “Transforming Food Systems for a Rising India” released by Palgrave/MacMillan Press in May 2019 is expected to have a major impact on food and agricultural policy thinking in India and elsewhere.

Pingali has had a very long and impactful association with Indian Agricultural Research Institutes, right from the late 1980s when he was an Economist and Program Leader at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), till today.