Dr. Biksham Gujja

Dr. Biksham Gujja is the Founder and Chairperson of AgSri, a social enterprise that works with farmers on improving the productivity of major irrigated crops. Through an innovative process, AgSri significantly reduces the water footprint, and creates jobs in rural areas. AgSri has received innovation awards from Millennium Alliance, a partnership created by Government of India, FICCI, USAID, and DiFId. Dr. Gujja has a Ph.D from the School of Environmental Sciences at JNU and was the Head of the Global Freshwater Programme at WWF International from 1993 - 2010. He conceptualised several global projects in the agricultural sector, focusing primarily on better water management techniques. He has headed a massive project with major international organizations like FAO, WB, WHO and IWMI that were geared towards reducing the the water-to-agricultue ratio without compromising on crop productivity. The project (2004-2010) was based at International Crop Research Institute, ICRISAT, which is part of CGIAR system. Before joining WWF, he was part of the group which established Deccan Development Society (DDS), a rural development NGO in one of the poorest regions of India, working with rural women in the areas of financial inclusion, watershed management, rural employment creation, bio-gas, solar energy and training. Dr. Gujja worked with the Mineral Exploration Corporation as an executive (1981-1984) and a Postdoctoral Fellow (1985-86) with McGill University, Montreal, Canada. He has published several scientific papers, policy reports, and newspaper articles, and authored and edited many books.