Rural Voice Awards Honour Leaders Transforming Indian Agriculture Through Science, Innovation and Sustainable Farming

At the ‘Rural Voice Agriculture Conclave & Awards 2025’, three distinguished contributors to Indian agriculture were honoured for their transformative work across agricultural science, industry and farming with Rural Voice Agriculture Awards 2025. The awards were conferred by Dr. R.S. Paroda, TAAS Chairman and former Secretary DARE & DG ICAR; T. Nandakumar, former Agriculture and Food Secretary, Government of India; and Dr. M.L. Jat, Secretary DARE & DG ICAR.

Eminent agricultural scientist Dr. A.K. Singh was recognised for developing high-yielding Basmati rice varieties that have significantly raised farmers’ incomes and strengthened India’s export earnings.Dr. Rajendra Barwale, Chairman, Mahyco Pvt Ltd, received the Agri-Corporate Award for pioneering Bt technologies that revolutionised cotton cultivation. The Progressive Farmer Award was presented to Nikki Pilania Chaudhary, a young agripreneur promoting sustainable dairy practices, poplar farming and climate-smart cultivation techniques.

Category: Eminent Agri Scientist
Dr. A.K. Singh, Former Director, IARI, Pusa, New Delhi

Dr. A.K. Singh is a renowned rice breeder, who has been associated with development of 25 Basmati rice varieties at IARI, New Delhi during the last 30 years of his service. These varieties are currently grown in a 2-million-hectare area and contribute Rs. 50,000/- crores of foreign exchange annually to the nation while bringing prosperity to millions of Basmati farmers. He has published more than 250 research papers in journals of repute and written two books.  He is Fellow of INSA, NASI & NAAS and recipient of Rafi Ahamad Kidwai Award, Bharat Ratna Dr. C. Subramaniam and Nana Ji Deshmukh Interdisciplinary Team Awards of ICAR, Borlaug Award, Best Teacher Award of IARI, Dr. B.P. Pal award of IARI, Vasvik Award, Omprakash Bhasin Award and D.S. Brar Award.

Category – Agri-Corporate
Dr. Rajendra Barwale, Chairman, Mahyco 

                                                                                                                                                                           
Agriculture Graduate from GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pant Nagar, Uttarakhand and Alumni of Harvard Business School, Sri Barwale is better known for pioneering the introduction of Bt Cotton technology in India, a technology which transformed the cotton sector in the country. He introduced the Bt Cotton Technology in Malawi, Kenya, and Nigeria in recent years and the Bt Brinjal technology in Bangladesh in 2013. He has been recognized in many forums for his immense contribution to the cause of betterment of life of small holder farmers using modern science. He is a part of the board of Federation of Seed Industry of India, International Seed Federation, Switzerland and many other organisations. He is a well-known philanthropist too who supports multiple social causes from time to time.

Category – Progressive Farmer
Nikki Pilania Chaudhary

A graduate in Economics from Maitreyi College, Delhi University, Nikki did her Master’s in Business Economics and Finance from University of Surrey, UK. Since 2022, along with her husband Gaurav, is dedicated to transforming the dairy scenario in India. Nikki has been invited thrice to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, Italy as a young dairy farmer/agripreneur to share her insights into the dairy farming sector in India. She is known for her poplar farming too. Nikki’s research paper entitled, “Poplar Culture on Farmland: Farmer’s Experience from Uttar Pradesh” was published by Forest Research Institute, Dehradun. Nikki has taken several initiatives to explore the best agricultural practices that are economically beneficial and environmentally sustainable. She promotes conservation agricultural practices such as zero tillage in wheat and direct seeded rice in paddy amongst farmers in the region.