Dr. Pankaj Thakur honored with ‘Dr. MS Swaminathan Award’

Mandi, August 25: Dr. Pankaj Thakur, a resident of Binga village panchayat of Dharmapur area of ​​Mandi district of Himachal, has been awarded the “Dr. MS Swaminathan Award” for “Outstanding Doctoral Research in Agriculture and Allied Sciences”. Dr. Pankaj completed his PhD in Agribusiness Management from Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni-Solan in the year 2022.

He was given this prestigious award by Surya Pratap Shahi, Minister of Agriculture, Agricultural Education and Agricultural Research, Government of Uttar Pradesh during the “8th National Youth Conference on New Perspectives for Sustainable Agriculture and Livelihood Security” organized at Banaras Hindu University. On this occasion, Dr. RC Agrawal, Deputy Director General of Indian Council of Agricultural Research and other eminent persons were also present. The conference was jointly organized by the Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, All India Agricultural Students Association and Indian Council of Agricultural Research on August 22-23, 2024.

In his research, Dr. Pankaj Thakur has studied agricultural produce marketing channel choices and their impact on farmers’ livelihoods. His research makes significant contributions to the agriculture sector, which is useful not only in academic literature but also for practical policy making. Using advanced econometric techniques, he has analyzed the factors that influence the selection of marketing channels by farmers.

His research emphasizes that policymakers need to develop and implement interventions to improve farmers’ marketing skills, enhance their access to markets, and improve their incomes and livelihoods. At the same time, it also makes a significant contribution towards better quality products for consumers and a more efficient and sustainable food system.

Driven by a deep passion for agricultural innovation and sustainability, Dr. Thakur has been inspiring and empowering students, farmers, and researchers through his exemplary research teaching and service to the agricultural community. Recently he has been selected for the post of Assistant Professor in VCSG Uttarakhand Horticulture and Forestry University. Prior to this, Dr. Pankaj Thakur was working as Assistant Professor in Chaudhary Charan Singh National Agricultural Marketing Institute, Jaipur, which is an autonomous organization of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India.