New Delhi: Globally recognised eminent agricultural scientist, Dr. Rajeev Varshney, International Chair in Agriculture & Food Security; Director, State Agricultural Biotechnology Center; & Director, Centre for Crop & Food Innovation, Food Futures Institute, Murdoch University (Australia) speaks to Agriculture Post on various challenging issues around agricultural research in India and the globe such as genomics, genetics, molecular breeding, capacity building, the adverse impact of climate change on food and nutrition security and its solutions through plant genetic research and genetically modified (GM) crops sustainable agricultural practices, crop diversification, the emergence of agritech, public sector investment in agricultural research and many related issues.
He has received the prestigious Crop Science Research Award 2023 from the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) and was also honoured as a Highly Cited Researcher from the Clarivate (UK). Prior to joining Murdoch University, Dr. Rajeev Varshney served the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) as Global Research Programme Director for 16 years.
Prof Varshney was recently elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of London, an honour given so far to three other Indian-origin agricultural scientists in the history of 366 years.