Chandra Shekhar Singh

Chandra Shekhar Singh is a farmer and self-taught crop researcher who has worked with thousands of farmers to raise their yields and incomes. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2021 in the field of agriculture, from Uttar Pradesh ^[1].

A farmer’s son

Singh was born on 2 July 1956 ^[2]. His father was both a farmer and a schoolteacher, and his motto was to keep working until the work is done ^[2]. Singh took a bachelor’s degree in 1982 and a law degree in 1985 from Gorakhpur University ^[2].

New varieties

From a young age he experimented with modern methods to improve seed yield and quality, and from 1986 he turned more to organic farming ^[2]. For more than 30 years he has worked with scientists at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Varanasi and Banaras Hindu University ^[2].

In 2015 he applied to register his high-yielding varieties with the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority, and in 2019 his first four were registered: the paddy varieties Vasundhara Damini, Mayuri-6698 and Sai Neelkanth, and the wheat Baba Vishwanath ^[2]. He has also developed a dwarf pigeon pea and a new way of transplanting paddy ^[2].

He founded Vasundhara, a research-based seed brand used by farmers across India, and a digital platform, Krishine, to help farmers buy good inputs at fair prices and sell their produce ^[2]. In 2007 he suggested a Kisan Mela, or farmers’ fair, to the vice-chancellor of BHU, and hosted the first one on his own farm ^[2].

Schools and relief

Singh brought together the district education department, the village council and a private company to turn his village’s government school into a model school with smart classes, science labs and good midday meals ^[2]. During the Covid-19 pandemic he gave food supplies to 1,000 families in Varanasi and 800 in Lucknow ^[2].