Dr. Dennis Garrity

Dr. Dennis Garrity is a systems agronomist and global leader in sustainable agriculture, renowned for his work in transforming small-scale farming systems in the tropics. Currently serving as Chair of the Board of the Global EverGreening Alliance and Drylands Ambassador for the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, he champions agroforestry, evergreen agriculture, and community-driven landcare to restore degraded lands and improve livelihoods. As Director General of the World Agroforestry Centre (2001–2011), he spearheaded innovative strategies to combat land degradation. Earlier in his career, he led the Southeast Asia Regional Programme of ICRAF and served as Head of the Farming Systems Program at the International Rice Research Institute, mentoring 47 PhD and MSc scholars. With over 175 publications and degrees from The Ohio State University, the University of the Philippines at Los Baños, and the University of Nebraska, Dr. Garrity remains a pivotal figure in global efforts to promote sustainable land management and rural development.

Mr. Ashok Dalwai

Dr. Ashok Dalwai, an Indian Administrative Service officer of the 1984 batch, has had a distinguished career serving the states of Odisha and Karnataka and holding key positions in the Government of India since 2010. Currently the CEO of the National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, he holds the rank of Secretary to the Government of India. A scholar in agricultural sciences with advanced degrees in Agricultural Economics and a Ph.D. in Economics, Dr. Dalwai has been a driving force behind numerous policy reforms, including Odisha's first Agriculture Policy (1997), Karnataka's first Textile Policy (2003), and the landmark Model Acts on Agricultural Marketing and Contract Farming (2017-18). As Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Doubling Farmers’ Income (DFI), his 14-volume report is regarded as a transformative roadmap for agricultural prosperity, and he now oversees its implementation. Dr. Dalwai's contributions have earned him several accolades, including an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad.

Rajit R. Okhandiar

Rajit R. Okhandiar, currently serving as the National Forestry Expert at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), has a distinguished career in forest management, including his previous role as Chief Conservator of Forests for the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department. He specializes in sustainable harvesting and value addition of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs), providing capacity-building training to field staff, self-help groups, and cooperative societies. With expertise in GIS and remote sensing for NTFP resource assessment, he has led initiatives to develop small forest enterprises, enhance marketing linkages, and promote NTFP-based rural livelihoods. Rajit has contributed to research on the medicinal properties of NTFPs, organized national and international conferences, and worked to align government schemes with NTFP management goals. His collaborative approach, involving NGOs and specialized institutions, underscores his commitment to sustainable forestry and rural development.

Mr. Tomio Shichiri, FAO Representative in India

Tomio Shichiri is a member of the Advisory Board of the STUPA Development Foundation, located in Delhi, India. In this role, Mr. Shichiri will provide instrumental guidance for the Foundation’s strategic direction and enhance effectiveness to achieve its objectives.

Prior to assuming the current position, Mr. Shichiri served as the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Country Director / Representative in India from 2018. Mr. Shichiri led as a co-organizer of the National Dialogue on Indian Agriculture Toward 2030, collaborated with the Member Agriculture of NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoAFW), as well as the Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Ministry of Fisheries and Animal Husbandry and Dairying. He worked for major government institutions, including NITI Aayog, MoAFW, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI), the Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR), the National Rained Area Authority (NRAA), the National Space research Centre (NRSC), the Spice Board of India, the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), the National Cooperative Development Cooperation (NCDC/NEDAC) as well as, during the COVID-19 programmatic response, the Empowerment Groups (EGs) under Ministry of Home Affairs, on the Global Environment Facility (GEF) projects, the Technical Cooperation Programmes (TCPs), Desert Locust swarms response, Fall armyworm (FAW) response, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance, agriculture-related SDGs indicators, farm-linked activities and secondary agriculture, and pursued the Green Climate Fund (GCF) resource for crop residue management in line with the concept of circular economy and in agriculture sector.

From 2006 to 2011 in Afghanistan, Mr. Shichiri served as a Project Manager in the Emergency and Rehabilitation Coordination Unit of FAO in Kabul. The programme included humanitarian response, agricultural alternative livelihood, and food security in the context of post-conflict and stabilization. In 2009, he served as the acting GAIN Coordinator (Greening Afghanistan Initiative Programme), a Joint Programme of six UN agencies including UNAMA, UNDP, UNEP, UNOPS, WFP, and FAO.

In 2011 Mr. Shichiri was appointed as the Administration Coordinator in the Crisis Management Centre – Animal Health (CMC-AH) at FAO’s headquarters in Rome, Italy. The CMC-AH was FAO’s Centre for Preparedness and Rapid Response to transboundary animal and zoonotic disease emergencies. As the head of the operational unit in the CMC-AH, the core of his work involved providing rapid deployment implementation, resource mobilization, and programme partnership coordination with such as OIE, USDA, DETRA, and other member states.

In 2014 Mr. Shichiri served as the FAO Country Director / Representative in Afghanistan. His core responsibility was to work for the humanitarian-development-peace triple nexus with focuses on community-based resilience building, climate change, water resources, transboundary animal diseases, regional value-chain & connectivity, and humanitarian response to address impacts on the food security and nutrition, and agriculture-based livelihoods for achieving zero hunger, community resilience, sustainable alternatives to opium, and lasting peace.

Prior to joining the UN, Mr. Shichiri began his career in 1998 as Consultant in the World Bank, Rural Development Department, in Washington DC, USA. He worked for the Land Quality Indicators (LQIs) program intended to help monitor whether human interventions in the landscape were leading toward or away from sustainability. His project management experience ranges from work for the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). From 2000 to 2005, he served as an Expert in JICA and worked for the Sabah State Forest Development Authority (SAFODA) in Malaysia; the State Institute of Research, Science and Technology of the State of Amapa (IEPA) in Brazil; the Environment Department of the States of Rondônia (SEDAM) in Brazil, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources in Tunisia.

Mr. Tomio Shichiri, a Japanese national, born in Osaka, holds a master’s degree in forestry from Yale University, USA. In 2017, Mr. Shichiri was the Recipient of the Binay Ranjan Sen Award at the 40th Session of the FAO Conference in Rome, Italy.

Subbanna Ayyappan

Dr. Subbanna Ayyappan, an eminent Indian scientist from Karnataka, is celebrated for his pivotal role in spearheading India’s Blue Revolution. Serving as the Director-General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Secretary to the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) from 2010 to 2016, he was the first non-crop scientist to lead ICAR. He has also held significant positions such as Chancellor of the Central Agricultural University, Manipur, and founder Chief Executive of the National Fisheries Development Board. With advanced degrees in Fish Production and Management (M.Sc.) and a Ph.D. from Bangalore University, Dr. Ayyappan has made substantial contributions to fisheries, limnology, and aquatic microbiology through his research and leadership. His extensive career includes roles at CIFRI, Barrackpore; CIFA, Bhubaneswar; and CIFE, Mumbai. A recipient of numerous awards, including the Padma Shri in 2022, Dr. Ayyappan's work in aquaculture has been widely recognized for transforming India’s fisheries sector and rural livelihoods.

Virendra Pal Singh

Virendra Pal Singh is a Soil Scientist and Systems Agronomist. He is a Senior Advisor for Policy and Impact, ICRAF-South Asia, New Delhi, India. He served as ICRAF’s founding Regional Director for South Asia from 2003 to 2014 and established its office in New Delhi and the Regional Programme for South Asia. A number of research, development and capacity enhancements were achieved in this period, and recognized by the national institutions in the region. In 2014 he successfully organized the 3rd World Congress of Agroforestry (WCA) in New Delhi, which was inaugurated by the Honourable President of India and attended by 14 State Chief Ministers, officials from various ministries and farmers from India. The event hosted over 1200 participants from over 80 countries. Prior to joining ICRAF, he worked at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for 32 years, as the Problem Soils Specialist, and Senior Agronomist and Team Leader for the Rainfed Rice Farming Systems Programme. His team efforts began paying dividends within five years as the Eastern India region produced 15 million tons more rice when compared to previous years. His efforts were recognized by the Central and State Governments of the country.

Sreenivasa Murthy, Rangaiah IFS, Ret

Sreenivasa Murthy, Rangaiah is a retired Forest Officer of Indian Forest Service (1987-2020) in the state of Madhya Pradesh. On academic front he completed his M.Sc., and M.Phil in Botany, AIFC from Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, Dehradun and he got his Post Graduate Diploma in Wildlife Management from Wildlife Institute of India. He served as DFO in Production, Territorial, Social forestry and Wildlife Divisions in Guna, Panna, Kanha TR, Sagar, Umaria, Morena and Gwalior. Also served as DCF (Wildlife) at PCCCF's (WL) office. As CF he served in MP State Academy of Administration, CCF he was the Field Director, Panna Tiger Reserve between 2009-2015, Addl MD, MFP Federation, Bhopal and Members Secretary MP State Biodiversity Board between 2016 and 2020.

His fields of interest and expertise are HR, Team Biding and Motivation, Nature Education, Wildlife Crime Investigation, Forest Eco-system Services, Tiger Reintroduction and Tiger Rewilding, Biodiversity Awareness, SDG, Implementation of BD Act, Capacity Building of BMCs Access Benefit Sharing Report Writing and Photography. He received "All Round Best Wildlifer" award from Wildlife Institute of India in 1993. He was part of the team that captured 13 problem wild elephants in the then undivided Madhya Pradesh which are being used in PA management. He has written State Manual for Annual Wildlife Population Estimations for Madhya Pradesh and invented a Field Tiger Tracing Kit which is being used in the state from the year 2000. He revived the Gangetic Gharial populations of National Chambal Sanctuary and written the Management Plan for the Area. He conceived and started "Bhopal Bird Watching Camps", an innovative nature conservation programme in 2005 and completed 25 camps. Made a documentary on "Kya Aap Kolans Va Kolar Jaante Hai?" a film that focuses on Forest-Water (drinking) related issues of Bhopal. Done more than 100 training programmes of field officers. As Field Director, Panna Tiger Reserve, he was the team leader that revived the Panna tigers from zero to 32 by implementing world famous Panna Tiger Reintroduction between 2009 and 2015. Opened up a new window of Tiger Conservation by successfully re-wilding two orphaned tigers whose mother got killed when they were just 30 days old. Successfully re-introduced six female tigers from different TRs of MP at Panna and achieved 100% breeding success among all reintroduced female tigers. He domesticated a semi-wild elephant in 2011. He followed the path of 'Tiger Conservation with People's Support' at Panna. During his tenure Panna TR got "Award of Excellence in Active Management" from NTCA for two consecutive terms in 2012 and 2014 and WII-NTCA ranked Panna Tiger Reserve as 'Very Good' in their Management Effective Evaluation in 2010 and 2014. At Panna he started an innovative ongoing Nature Awareness programme, "Panna Nature Camps" for locals and completed 100 such camps. He also started Panna Vulture Estimation in 2011 in PPP model and the process discovered three more species of vultures to the area. Cambodia is following the Panna Model of Tiger Reintroduction and Mr. Murthy has been invited by the WWF-Cambodia to Cambodia share his expertise. Mr Murthy is instrumental in revitalizing MPSBB during his four-year tenure with innovative awareness programmes that epitome with MP State Biodiversity Quiz, notifying MP’s first ever Biodiversity Heritage Sites, Annual Awards for BD Conservation and ABS, Agri Beej Yatra and completion of MPSB Strategy and Action Plan 2018-2030. Post retirement he acted as an Independent Director of RVNL, Ministry of Railways between Nov 21 to June 22. Presently he is a member of general body BNHS, Mumbai.