India appoints new Agriculture Secretary

Mr. Shobhana K. Pattanayak has been appointed as the new Secretary of India’s Department of Agriculture, Cooperation, and Farmers Welfare with the retirement of the incumbent Mr. Siraj Hussain.

“Pattanayak’s outstanding record and dynamic leadership bodes well for the continued growth and development of India’s agriculture sector and for the welfare of all farmers and consumers,” said Matthew Morell, director general of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

In his congratulatory letter to Pattanayak, Morell mentioned India and IRRI’s historical record in rice science for food security, which has been achieved in close collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, the Ministry of Agriculture, and numerous state agricultural departments and universities.

“These deep and long-running partnerships have fostered extraordinarily productive and successful collaborations that significantly enable India’s national developmental priorities and programs in research and rice-based food security and economic growth,” said Morell. “Indeed, our partnerships stand on a firm foundation for continued productivity toward mutually-held goals in national, regional, and global food security.”

Morell invited Pattanayak to visit IRRI headquarters in the Philippines. "Your visit will allow us to brief you on our current research accomplishments, our historical and current collaboration with India; and also solicit your input on how we can strengthen our working together for the benefit of farmers and consumers in India and South Asia," Morell concluded.

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