Bonbehari Vishnu Nimbkar (17 July 1931 – 25 August 2021) was an Indian agricultural scientist and social worker, known for his work in the fields of animal husbandry and agriculture. He founded

Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) is a non-governmental organisation and non-profit research and development institute in Tambmal, Phaltan, Maharashtra, India. The institute undertakes research and development in the fields of agri ...

, an Indian

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

engaged in research and development in agriculture, renewable energy and animal husbandry. His work garnered him many awards, including the

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

and the

Jamnalal Bajaj Award Jamnalal Bajaj Award is an Indian award, for promoting Gandhian values, community service and social development. Established in 1978, by the Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation of Bajaj Group, it is given annually in four categories, and usually presente ...

Early life

B. V. Nimbkar was born on 17 July 1931 in

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

to Kamala Nimbkar (''née'' Elizabeth Lundy) and Vishnu Nimbkar. He attended

George School George School is a private Quaker (Society of Friends) boarding and day high school located on a rural campus in Middletown Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania ( Newtown postal address). It was founded at its present site in 1893, and has grow ...

, a Quaker-run preparatory school in Newtown, Pennsylvania. His mother also attended the same school. After obtaining a master's degree in Agronomy from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, he returned to India.

Career

In 1956, he started farming in

Phaltan Phaltan () is a town, a tehsil, and a municipal council in the Satara district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The town is about northeast of the city of Satara and about 110 km from Pune. History Phaltan was one of the non-salu ...

, a taluka in

Satara district Satara district (Marathi pronunciation: aːt̪aɾaː is a district of Maharashtra state in western India with an area of and a population of 3,003,741 of which 14.17% were urban (). Satara is the capital of the district and other major towns ...

in western Maharashtra, and is reported to have started a seed business and processing plant called Nimbkar Seeds, with financial assistance from Rockefeller Foundation. In 1968, he founded the

(NARI), a non-profit,

, for advanced research in agriculture. The organization has since grown to include activities in renewable energy, animal husbandry and sustainable development. His company Nimbkar Seeds is credited with the introduction of pure-bred

Boer goats The Boer or Boerbok is a South African breed of meat goat. It was selectively bred in the Eastern Cape from about 1920 for meat qualities and for the ability to survive by grazing on the thorn veldt of that region. It has been exported to man ...

for the first time in India. He remained the president of NARI till 1990 and the organization, as of 2021, is headed by his daughter

Nandini Nimbkar Nandini Nimbkar is an agricultural scientist from India, and currently the President of the Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI). She is the daughter of B. V. Nimbkar and granddaughter of Irawati Karve and Kamala Nimbkar. Nimbkar st ...

, assisted by Chanda Nimbkar and Nandini's husband,

Anil K. Rajvanshi Anil K. Rajvanshi is an academic from India, and is the current Director of the Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI). Rajvanshi was born and raised in Lucknow, India. He has been the director of NARI at Maharashtra, India since 1 ...

. Some of Nimbkar's research areas included studying the causes for desertification particularly in the Western Maharashtra region and the lasting impact of

hybrid plants Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...

and high-yielding varieties of crops on the underlying soil. His research work and articles were published in national and international journals. Nimbkar was the recipient of the

, India's fourth highest civilian honor, in 2006, for his contributions to the field of agriculture. He was also the recipient of the

in 2016 for the application of science and technology toward rural applications.

Personal life

Nimbkar was married and had three daughters,

, an academic and agricultural scientist, Chanda Nimbkar, a geneticist and animal husbandry research scientist, and Manjiri Nimbkar, a physician and social worker. Nimbkar died at Phaltan on 25 August 2021, one month after his 90th birthday.

Selected bibliography

* * * * *

References

External links