The Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) now has a new director general P Chandra Shekara, an Indian national, replacing Cherdsak Virapat, Thai national, who has completed his four-year term (2020 -2024), says a press release.
Chandra is a leading professional in the field of agriculture with more than three decades of service towards integrated rural development, especially in the areas, namely Agricultural Extension Management, Agri-Entrepreneurship Development, Agricultural Marketing Management and Public-Private-Partnership. He headed three premier National Institutions in India which work for the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India. Chandra served as Director General of CCS National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (CCS NIAM), director general (In-charge) of National Institute of Plant Health Management (NIPHM) and director general of National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE). As chief executive of these institutions, he leads very important international and national schemes, programmes and policy interventions for the development of agriculture through training, research, consultancy, policy advocacy, education, international programmes, implementation of Government of India schemes, Agripreneurship Development, Agri Startups Promotion, Documentation and Dissemination in Agriculture Development.
P Chandra Shekara received numerous accolades and recognition for his outstanding achievements worth mentioning 鈥� Extension Leadership Award (2023) in the International Extension Education Conference 2023 (IEEC 2023); NITTE-Karnataka Bank Limited Lifetime Achievement Award-2019 for driving Agri-entrepreneurship Movement in India and etc.
Chandra holds a PhD in agricultural extension awarded from University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore in 1999 with a cumulative Grade Point Average of 9.57 /10.00 with the following Three Gold Medals, Recipient of the University of Agricultural Sciences Gold Medal for Securing Highest Grade Point, Recipient of Dr K A Jalihal Gold Medal for Best PhD, Student in Agricultural Extension.
Recipient of Dr R Dwarakinath, former vice-chancellor gold medal for best PhD student in Agricultural Extension.
His Doctoral Research Thesis contributed to an 鈥楢gricultural Extension Strategy for the Management of Coffee Industry in India鈥�. He obtained a Post-Graduate Degree - MSc in Agricultural Extension, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore in 1989 and completed his bachelor鈥檚 degree-BSc, (Agriculture) from the same University in 1987.
Chandra said that he is looking forward to leading the CIRDAP Secretariat by continuing the work his predecessors have done blending with his experiences and expertise to take CIRDAP further into the future and to its vision. He also added that he would strive to make the Organisation ready for new challenges and strengthen the role for Integrated Rural Development in Asia and the Pacific region.
P Chandra Shekara will serve CIRDAP from 2024 to 2028.
