Dr. Swati Nayak
Job Title:
Name of Organization:
Years of Experience:
Primary Email:
Scientist and South Asia Lead– Seed System and Product Management
Rice Breeding Innovation Department CGIAR International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
15+ years
s.nayak@irri.org
Educational Background:
- D. in Competitive Intelligence for Agricultural Extension Strategy (Measuring the efficacy of alternative extension innovations/ on-farm trials for varietal evaluations, dissemination and scaling )
- Masters in Rural Management . Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) , India (key optionals- Rural Development, Agribusiness management, Public Policy)
- Bachelor of Science in Agriculture. Acharya NG Ranga Agriculture University (ANGRAU), Hyderabad, India
Five key areas of expertise
- Rural and Agriculture Innovation Models and Systems
- Technology transfer, Public-Private-Community Partnerships and Scaling for Impact research
- Deploying Climate Resilient and Nutrition Responsive Agriculture Innovations
- Gender Inclusive and Community Engagement Models
- Rural Enterprise development, value chain and market linkages
Important Awards and Recognitions :
- Recipient of World Food Prize Foundation’s – Norman E Borlaug Field Award 2023 (Endowed by Rockefeller foundation)
- Recipient of Indian of the Year- Climate Champion Award 2024 by NDTV network as Climate Champion 2024
- Listed among Top 6 Asian Women Scientists (Asian Scientist Magazine 2023)
- Lited among Asian Scientist 100, covering Asia’s most Outstanding Researcher list
- Special invitee by Her Excellency President of India’s At-Home ceremony for Republic Day 2026 as Eminent Scientist nominated by Department of science and technology, Govt of India
- Felicitated in 2022 by Government of Bangladesh for Significant Contribution in Regional Cooperation and Capacity Sharing (Seeds without border ) and Seed System Research
- Featured in “HER STORY” as the 10 Eminent Woman in Science in a Comic Book for young readers launched by CSIR (Centre for Science and Industrial Research), Govt of India
- Acknowledgd by Hon’ble US Ambassodor to India and Chief of Cabinet Upper House for outstanding contribution to Indian agriculture
- TEDx Speaker with Indian Institute of Science Education & Research(IISER), under Ministry of HRD
- Recipient of Indian Express- Devi Award (Given to Women Achievers)
- Felicitated as Outstanding Indian Scientist by Chief Minister, Govt of Odisha, India
- Listed as 23 influnetial changemakers of 2023 (Cover by Outlook Business Magazine, India)
- Felicitated in Indian Nutrition Conclave 5.0
Other Key Trainings/ Courses/Specialized Skillsets:
- Cornell University – Seed Industry Programme
- University of Tufts and University of California, Berkely Course of Rigorous Impact Assessment using Randomised Control Trials
- Global diversity practices, UK (GDP Ltd) led course of Gender and Diversity
- IRRI Education- Course of Scientific Writing Skill
- IRRI-Education – Research Data Management Course
- Trained and Adept on social and market research tools like SPSS, STATA, R Digital data collection tools like SurveyBe, Kobo Collect, ODK
- Comprehensively trained in Participatory Rural Appraisal methods and tools
- Trained in B4R and EBS (Enterprise Breeding Service) data management and repository tools
- Knowledge and hands on skill on qualitative tools: GSRAT, Social Mapping, Well-being Analysis, Income-Expenditure Analysis, and Institutional Mapping