Grow Further has officially kicked off our India program, expanding our support for agricultural innovation benefitting smallholder farmers to the subcontinent. And to celebrate this milestone, we’ve launched a new initiative with the help of India’s former Vice President, Hon’ble Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu.
Grow Further and the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) have joined forces to launch the new M.S. Swaminathan-Grow Further Award.
This international prize honors scientists in developing countries who are advancing research and innovation to strengthen smallholder farming in the face of climate change. Recipients are recognized not only for their achievements, but also for the potential of their work to drive large-scale, lasting impact for farming communities worldwide.
The M.S. Swaminathan-Grow Further Award honors the legacy of M.S. Swaminathan, an Indian plant geneticist and breeder who played a critical role in the Green Revolution. Professor Swaminathan passed away in 2023, and the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation hosted a special event on what would have been his 100th birthday. The new M.S. Swaminathan-Grow Further Award recipient was announced on August 9 at this occasion.
Earlier this month, Grow Further founder and CEO Peter Kelly and Vice President of Development Venkat Pegadaraju made a return trip to India to reconnect with colleagues, acquaintances, and new friends in the lead-up to our expansion in that country. They also made the trip to help launch the new M.S. Swaminathan-Grow Further Award. We were honored to have Vice President Naidu participate in the ceremony, handing the award to the recipient.
The winner
Our M.S. Swaminathan-Grow Further Award goes to an agricultural scientist who’s renowned for her role in forging climate-resilient growing methods and developing dozens of disease-resistant crop varieties.
Dr. Mamta Sharma is a research scientist with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). She’s credited with developing disease-resistant varieties of chickpea, pigeon pea, and more. She’s also known for her work on developing and propagating climate-smart agricultural tech and methods that have reached over 40,000 farmers in India, farmers who are mainly reliant on seasonal rains to raise their crops and thus acutely vulnerable to global warming.
Dr. Sharma’s bio on the ICRISAT website describes her as “an accomplished, result-oriented plant pathologist having more than 20 years of experience in this field.” She serves as one of the organization’s principal scientists and leads ICRISAT’s Legumes Pathology program. She’s based at the organization’s global headquarters in Hyderabad, India.
Dr. Sharma wins the honor and the $25,000 research stipend that comes with it. She was chosen among a list of candidates after a thorough and rigorous selection process by the jury for the M.S. Swaminathan Award for Food and Peace, with special consideration given to finalists whose work aids female farmers.
The jury narrowed the pool of candidates, while Grow Further confirmed the final selection. All candidates considered were worthy in their own rights, but Dr. Sharma stood out from the pack.
“We believe that research should serve people—and this awardee’s work does exactly that,” Venkat, our Vice President, said in explaining the jury and Grow Further’s decision. “By advancing resilient, farmer-centered solutions in legumes, they are not just improving agriculture; they are transforming nutrition, equity, and climate resilience in some of the world’s most vulnerable regions.”
On the shoulders of a giant
The launch of the M.S. Swaminathan-Grow Further Award was made possible by the concerted efforts of our senior leadership and staff and MSSRF. Grow Further is proud to be partnering with the Foundation on projects like this.
The award recognizes and celebrates the many lifetime accomplishments of the late Professor M.S. Swaminathan, the Foundation’s namesake. We’re proud to help continue his legacy in agricultural innovation and philanthropy with the award and our forthcoming Indian research grant round.
Peter and Venkat have both had the honor of meeting Professor Swaminathan in person and have fond memories of their encounters and talks with him.
A legendary plant geneticist and famed humanitarian, M.S. Swaminathan is credited with bringing the Green Revolution to India and Pakistan, preventing disastrous food shortages and mass starvation in the process. He collaborated with Norman Borlaug to produce specialized wheat varieties that led to huge gains in India’s wheat harvests. Later, he pursued more groundbreaking research toward creating resilient and higher-yielding varieties of potato, wheat, and rice. For years, he led the International Rice Research Institute from its headquarters in the Philippines.
M.S. Swaminathan was awarded the first World Food Prize in 1987. Soon after, he established MSSRF.
Last year, the government of India posthumously bestowed him with that nation’s highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna.
As the award announcement notes, Professor Swaminathan’s “life’s work reshaped agriculture with a deep commitment to equity, inclusion, and scientific excellence.”
“Professor M.S. Swaminathan reminded us that science must begin with the farmer,” Peter, our CEO, said upon the award announcement. “This award reflects that philosophy—honoring those whose work uplifts communities and drives real, lasting change in the lives of small-scale producers.”
As noted earlier, we received a very positive response to our recent call for expressions of interest ahead of a new round of Grow Further grants for research benefiting India’s smallholder farmers. 323 EOI’s were submitted from research institutes, agricultural nonprofits, universities, and more.
Selected applications are currently writing full proposals for us. We plan to make grants as soon as practical and keep our newsletter readers up to date on our progress.
— Grow Further
Photo Caption:
Presentation of the M. S. Swaminathan-Grow Further Award in Delhi, August 9, 2025. From left to right: Dr. Nithya Rao, Director of The Norwich Institute for Sustainable Development, University of East Anglia; Dr. Raimati Ghiuria, Queen of Miller and a tribal farmer from Odisha; Dr. Mangi Lal Jat, Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and President of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences of India; Dr. Himanshu Pathak, Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT); Dr. Mamta Sharma, Research Scientist at ICRISAT; Dr. Venkat Pegadaraju, Vice President of Grow Further; Hon’ble Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, Former Vice President of India; Dr. Peter Kelly, Chair of Grow Further; Mr. Suresh Prabhu, Former Minister of Civil Aviation of India; Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chair of M. S. Swaminanthan Research Foundation (MSSRF); Mr. Devesh Chaturvedi, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare of India; Dr. E. D. Oliver King, Director of Biodiversity, MSSRF.
Photo credits:
Award ceremony: Courtesy of MSSRF.
Mamta Sharma: Courtesy of ICRISAT.
Venkat Pegadaraju with M. S. Swaminathan: Courtesy of Venkat Pegadaraju.