Thursday, 19 June 2025
The Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) has announced the appointment of Dr. B.M. Prasanna as its new Managing Director, effective June 1, 2025.
Dr. Prasanna brings to BISA a distinguished record of leadership and innovation in global agricultural research and development. His career has spanned decades of impactful work, including a tenure at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)–Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) in New Delhi, and nearly 15 years as Director of the Global Maize Program at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), based in Nairobi, Kenya. Under his leadership, multi-institutional collaborations delivered elite, stress-resilient, and nutritionally enriched maize varieties that have significantly improved food security across sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Notably, the adoption of CGIAR-linked climate-resilient maize in sub-Saharan Africa grew from 0.5 million hectares in 2010 to over 8.5 million hectares by 2024.
A CIMMYT Distinguished Scientist, Dr. Prasanna has been a pioneer in modernizing breeding approaches, including the establishment of state-of-the-art research facilities such as the Maize Doubled Haploid platforms in Kenya and India, and the Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN) Screening Facility in Kenya. He also played a key leadership role as head of the CGIAR Research Program on Maize Agri-Food Systems (Maize CRP) from 2015 to 2021. More recently, he spearheaded the OneCGIAR Plant Health Initiative (2022–2024), a global collaboration involving over 120 institutions to tackle plant health threats including MLN and Fall Armyworm—efforts that have protected the livelihoods of millions of farmers globally.
Dr. Prasanna’s scientific excellence has been widely recognized. His accolades include the CIMMYT Distinguished Scientist Award (2024), Fellowship of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (India), the Shanghai Magnolia Award (China), and the prestigious Dr. M.S. Swaminathan Award for Leadership in Agriculture (India). He has authored more than 250 scientific publications and has a Google Scholar h-index of 75, marking him as one of the most respected voices in agricultural science today.
In January 2025, he was also appointed Regional Director for Asia at CIMMYT, underscoring his deep engagement in advancing agricultural innovation across the continent.
Reflecting on his new role, Dr. Prasanna said, “I am honoured to join the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) as Managing Director at this pivotal time. Together with our strong partners in India and in other South Asian countries, we will co-develop and deliver improved technologies on diverse fronts, and contribute to food, nutritional and livelihood security in the region. BISA will continue to provide an enabling ecosystem for driving science-driven innovations and technology delivery, addressing major challenges to sustainable agriculture in South Asia.”
As Managing Director, Dr. Prasanna will lead BISA’s mission to strengthen sustainable agricultural research, foster regional partnerships, and scale innovations that advance food and nutrition security across South Asia.
