Dr. Khadar Vali worked hard for 20 years to bring back Siridhanya, which is also called positive millet and was almost extinct. He got his Ph.D. from the IISc and did postdoctoral research in the United States. His research involved making chemicals like Dioxin less dangerous. Dr. Khadar came up with a way to grow the positive millets naturally called “Kadu Krishi,” which is also called “Jungle Farming.”

Dr.G.B.K. Rao, an Engineer-turned-Environmentalist, is the Architect of Pragati Biodiversity Knowledge Park and the Founder Chairman of Pragati Group & Chairman Expert Committee on Agriculture and Food Processing for Southern Region, Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

Ms. Vishala Reddy is the founder of Millet Bank, a social enterprise in the agri and food space, as well as a farmer’s daughter and a social entrepreneur with over 18 years of experience. Millet Bank was founded to help farmers in arid regions. Millet Bank established a network of 500+ farmers, 100 micro entrepreneurs, a farmer field school, 15 value-added products, and a gifting division to support rural artisans and craftspeople in 15 months.

Dr. CVCM Reddy is a principal scientist at Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University who has developed and commercialized millet varieties. He has published several papers about his research on various millets such as Italian millet, Kodo millet, Proso millet, Foxtail millet, and others. Dr. Reddy received his postdoctoral fellowship at West Virginia State University and his Ph.D. in Genetics and Plant Breeding from Banaras Hindu University.