Prem Mathur

Dr. Prem Mathur is a resident of India and obtained his degrees (M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Agriculture) with specialization in Plant Breeding and Genetics from University of Udaipur, Rajasthan, India. In addition, he also obtained post-M.Sc. degree (D.I.I.T) in cell biology from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur and was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Oxford Forestry Institute, University of Oxford, UK, where he undertook research on micropropagation of forestry species. He served Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) for 18 years as Scientist/Senior Scientist/Principal Scientist at ICAR-Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute (IGFRI), Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh and at ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR). During his tenure with NBPGR, he was Indian National Coordinator for NBPGR-ICRISAT collaborative programme on germplasm collection, characterization, and documentation of ICRISAT mandate crops. 

Following his services with ICAR, he joined Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT in 1995 and worked for over 21 years on various positions such as: South Asia Associate Coordinator, South Asia Coordinator, Interim Regional Director for Asia, Pacific and Oceania, and Regional Representative for Central and South Asia, from where he retired in 2016. While working with Alliance, he worked with many national programmes across Asia-Pacific and Africa and travelled widely. His significant contributions include strengthened the “South Asia Plant Genetic Resources Network (SANPGR)”, establishing “Pacific Plant Genetic Resources Network (PAPGREN)”, establishing national genebanks in Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal; and served as “Technical Expert” to assist “Plant Genetic Resources Centre (PGRC)” of Sri Lanka to strengthen their on- going PGR activities. After retirement, Dr Prem is continuously engaged as consultant/technical advisor with the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT for various projects being implemented in India. In addition, he is also engaged as Scientific Advisor/Coordinator with Kirkhouse Trust, UK for the implementation of their Stress Tolerant Orphan Legumes (STOL) project in India and African countries. He is also associated with UNDP-India office as Senior Technical Advisor for Sustainable Land Management, and with FAO as consultant. Dr Mathur organized and participated as resource person in over 60 international training courses / workshops/ conferences in the field of plant genetic resources conservation and use in India and outside India, including serving as Organising Secretary for “First International Agrobiodiversity Congress”. He was awarded “Dr Harbhajan Singh Award” in 2016 for his outstanding contributions in the field of Plant Genetic Resources. Dr Mathur has over 95 scientific publications, including conference papers/germplasm catalogues/ collecting reports/ chapters in books/ proceedings of workshops and meetings, to his credit.