Badrinarayan Ramulal Barwale (1931 – 24 July 2017) is widely regarded as the father of the Indian seeds industry, who revolutionised farming practices by producing cheaper and higher-yield seeds in the

Marathwada Marathwada () is a proposed state and geographical region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It was formed during the Nizam's rule and was part of the then Hyderabad State. The region coincides with the Aurangabad division of Maharashtra. I ...

region of India. Barwale was born in 1931 in

Hingoli Hingoli is a city and a municipal council in Hingoli district in the Indian state of Maharashtra with the population of 184,443. Description Hingoli is a city and a municipal council in Hingoli district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. H ...

, Nizam state (now Maharashtra), India. He began farming on his family's land in the 1950s, experimenting with a high-yield

okra Okra or Okro (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in many English-speaking countries as ladies' fingers or ochro, is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It has edible green seed pods. The geographical origin of okra is disputed, with su ...

hybrid given to him at the World Agricultural Fair in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

. In 1964, he started the Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company, also known as

Mahyco Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Co. (Mahyco) is an agricultural company based in India. It is one of the country's major producers of seed. As of 2015, the company was also active in Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines and Bangladesh, and planned expansion to ...

, where he cultivated the higher efficiency seeds and began selling them to area farmers at an affordable price. Mahyco expanded to a network of farmers producing new seed varieties of several different crops. By providing assistance and guaranteeing loans for farmers cultivating Mahyco's seeds, Barwale's team was able to gain valuable feedback on various crop strains and make subsequent improvements to their yield and quality. Barwale was awarded the 12th

World Food Prize The World Food Prize is an international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world. Conceived by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nor ...

in 1998 for his work in providing affordable, high-yield seed varieties and agronomic training to farmers across India. The President of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan Award in 2001 for his distinguished service in the field of trade and economic activity. He died on 24 July 2017 in Mumbai at the age of 86.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barwale, B. R. Agriculture in Maharashtra Indian farmers People from Maharashtra Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in trade and industry 1931 births 2017 deaths Farmers' rights activists Agriculture and food award winners