Regenerative Agriculture: Translating Science to Action

Amitava Rakshit, an IIT-Kharagpur alumnus is the faculty member in the Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry at Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi, UP, India. His research areas include: Nutrient use efficiency, Simulations modeling, organic farming, Integrated Nutrient Management and bioremediation. His consulting capabilities are: Composting Techniques, Soil Health Management, Input quality Control. He was involved in "Participatory Research" and "Lab to Land" Programmes of ICAR; Dept. of Agricultural Cooperation, Govt. of India; Department of Agriculture, Government of West Bengal;NHB, New Delhi and NHM for on farm demonstrations of agro-technologies in cereals/pulses/oilseeds/cash crops/vegetables/fruits. Actively involved in imparting training and dissemination of technical knowledge and information to diversified end users. He has supervised approximately seven research projects, many in partnership with industry. He is widely acknowledged for his skills in linking research with the broader community in regional languages. He has been working closely with undergraduate and post-graduate students in BHU presently.

Dr. Manoj Parihar is currently working at ICAR-Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi AnusandhanSansthan, Almora, Indiaas a Soil Scientist in Crop Production Division. He did his graduation from SKRAU, Bikaner and selected as ICAR-JRF fellow for post-graduation in Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi. He has been awarded doctorate from the same university in the year 2018. He has received various recognitions such as ICAR-SRF, UGC-BSR, UGC-RGNF etc. His research works extend to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal diversity, ecological functions and inoculum production aspects for improving soil health and sustainable agricultural production. He has edited two books, and published >10 book chapters and >25 peer-reviewed journal papers.

Dr. Vijay Singh Meena, working as a Project Coordinator at International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)-Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA). He worked as Scientist at ICAR-Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi AnusandhanSansthan, Almora, India. His research areas include various aspects of soil aggregation, carbon management index and carbon and nitrogen sequestration potential under different land types and cropping systems of north-western Indian Himalayas. He identified carbon management index as the key indicator to measure soil degradation in different agroecosystems. His research revealed that the application of FYM and vermicompost along with vegetative barrier across the slope are highly effective in sustaining the soil quality. He reported that potassium solubilizing rhizobacteria (KSR) enhances 25-40% potassium (K) availability and help plants to uptake K from the soils. Dr. Meena identified that the combined application of organic and inorganic sources is important in sustaining the productivity of Himalayan soils and prevent soil erosion. Combined use of FYM and inorganic fertilizers on equal N basis (50 + 50 FYM) resulted in higher productivity of maize and wheat crops than an individual source. However, in-situ green manuring and inorganic fertilizers on equal N basis (50 + 50 GM) resulted in reduction of runoff and soil loss, maintained system productivity, leading to the conservation of natural resources in soils of maize-wheat cropping system.He is instrumental in the preparation and distribution of >4000 soil health cards to different hill farmers at the current institute. He recently reported the carbon and nitrogen sequestration potential of different land use and cropping systems in Indian Himalayas. He also edited seven Springer books on microbes and agricultural sustainability. He has received several scholarship and awards during his academic and professional career.

Dr. P. C. Abhilash is a senior Assistant Professor of Sustainability Science in the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development (IESD) at Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, India, and Lead of the Agroecosystem Specialist Group of IUCN-Commission on Ecosystem Management. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, India. His research interest lies on sustainable biomass production from marginal and degraded lands for supporting a biobased economy, restoring degraded lands for regaining ecosystem services, land system management, sustainable utilisation of agrobiodiversity, nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based adaptations for climate-resilient and planet healthy food production, and sustainable agriscape management for food and nutritional security. He is particularly interested in sustainability analysis, system sustainability, sustainability indicators, circular economy principles, policy realignment and the localization of UN-SDGs for the sustainable development. He is sitting on the editorial board of prestigious journals in Ecology/Environment/Sustainability from leading international publishers, and also serving as a subject expert for UN-IPBES, IRP- UNEP, UNDP-BES Network, IPCC, UNCCD, APN, GLP, and IUCN Commissions (CEM, CEC, CEESP, and SSC) for fostering global sustainability.

Dr. Prakash Kumar Jha is a post-doctoral scientist at Feed the Future Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab, Kansas State University, USA. He works in the field of crop modeling and geospatial sciences. He has PhD in Agronomy from Michigan State University, USA. He did his master’s in environmental sciences from Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, and bachelors in agricultural sciences from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. He has published several research papers in international Journals and presented papers at International conferences on crop modeling and remote sensing with special emphasis on water management in agriculture. He is a board member in the Crop Science Society of America and a member of American Geophysical Union , American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, and Association of Agricultural Scientist of Indian Origin.

Dr. Deepranjan Sarkar is a soil microbial ecologist and is currently working as Assistant Professor at Integral University, Lucknow, India. Previously, he worked at the Banaras Hindu Unversity, where he studied how different management practices affect soil microbial communities and nutrient cycling. His works emphasized on regenerative agriculture as a conservation and rehabilitation approach to food and farming systems. which focuses on increasing biodiversity, enhancing ecosystem services, supporting biosequestration, increasing resilience to climate change, and strengthening the health and vitality of farm soil. Dr. Rahul Datta is a soil microbiologist and enzymologist. He obtained an MSc and Ph.D. from the Department of Geology and Pedology, Mendel University, Brno, Czech Republic, where he is currently a faculty and researcher. Dr. Datta’s research focuses on understanding the effect of biogenic and xenobiotic substances on microbial metabolism in the soil. During his career, Dr. Datta has acquired global experience in soil science research by working with renowned scientists. He worked as a visiting scientist with Dr. Richard Dick at Ohio State University, Ohio, USA, and Prof. Paolo Nannipieri at the University of Florence, Italy. Dr. Datta has published numerous research articles and books and has reviewed 200 papers in peer-reviewed journals. He is currently a reviewer for fifty-eight major scientific journals. Dr. Datta is an editorial board member of Open Agriculture and is hosting a special issue of the Journal of Agriculture and Sustainability. He is also a current member of the Soil Science Society of America