Subbanna Ayyappan

Subbanna Ayyappan was a scientist and research leader who worked to make Indian farming more science-based and to raise fish production and farm incomes, especially through aquaculture. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2022 in the field of science and engineering, from Karnataka ^[1].

A fisheries scientist

Ayyappan was born on 10 December 1955 ^[2]. He studied at the College of Fisheries, Mangalore, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in fisheries science from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, in 1975 and 1977, and a PhD from Bangalore University in 1988 ^[2]. His research covered freshwater aquaculture and aquatic microbiology, including biofertilisation, cleaning up water bodies and integrated farming ^[2].

Leading research

For more than two decades he managed agricultural research, bringing changes to India’s national agricultural research and education system with a focus on farmers ^[2]. He headed the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, the first scientist from outside the crop sciences to do so ^[3]. At the time of the award he was chancellor of the Central Agricultural University in Imphal and chairman of the Karnataka Science and Technology Academy ^[2]. He served on committees of the FAO, the World Bank and CGIAR centres ^[2].

His honours included the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award in 2013 and the B. P. Pal Memorial Award in 2012 ^[2].

In May 2025 his body was found in the Cauvery river near Srirangapatna ^[3].