Khadar Valli Dudekula

Khadar Valli Dudekula, often called the Millet Man of India, is a scientist who has spent about 25 years working to bring millets back into everyday Indian food. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2023 in the field of science and engineering, from Karnataka ^[1].

A scientist’s career

Khadar was born on 15 January 1958 ^[2]. He took a BSc in education in 1979 and an MSc in education in 1981, and then a PhD in steroid biochemistry at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru ^[2]. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Oregon Graduate Center in the United States until 1991, then as a senior scientist at the Central Food Technological Research Institute in Mysuru, and from 1993 to 1997 as a research scientist at DuPont in Delaware ^[2].

Back to millets

Convinced that the way Indians eat needed to change, he resigned and returned to India to work as an independent scientist on millets ^[2]. For 25 years he has travelled to villages and cities across Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and in recent years across India, urging people to make millets their staple grains and a sustainable food for the future ^[2]. He has spoken on millets in the United States, the UAE and Nigeria ^[2].

Help for dryland farmers

He has also trained thousands of farmers in a rain-fed method of cultivation he calls jungle krishi ^[2]. By creating demand for millets in Indian cities, his work has helped dryland farmers who had been left behind earn a better living ^[2].

He received the Krishi Ratna from the Raitu Nestam Foundation in 2021 and an honorary doctorate from SGT University, Gurugram, in January 2023 ^[2].