Parmod Kumar is Professor, Agricultural Development and Rural Transformation Centre, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru, India. Professor Kumar has authored 11 research volumes and published more than 60 research articles in refereed national and international journals. He has published articles in high-impact journals. He is leading several research projects sponsored by the Government of India and various international organizations. He was managing editor of the Journal of Social and Economic Development and is on the editorial board of Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Situation in India and the Indian Journal of Agricultural Marketing. Professor Kumar was empanelled as visiting professor in economics for deputation to Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Chair Abroad by the ICCR, New Delhi. Currently, he is chairing Working Group on crop husbandry, agricultural inputs and, demand and supply projections constituted by the NITI Aayog. Professor Kumar was conferred the International Development Research Centre India Social Science Research Award for his work on the public distribution system. Professor Kumar is guiding 7 PhD research scholars and has been on Doctoral Committee of more than 20 PhD research scholars. His major area of research belongs to agricultural economics, environment economics, rural development and development economics. Manjunatha A. V. obtained his MSc degree in agricultural economics from University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru, and an international MSc degree in rural development (Erasmus Mundus Fellow) from the University of Ghent, Belgium. He holds a doctoral degree in agricultural economics (DAAD Fellow) from Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany. He has completed several state, national and international projects and has been involved in drafting policy documents for the state and central governments. He has published research articles in reputed journals, conferences and leading national newspapers, and books with reputed publishers. His main research areas include Natural Resource Management, agricultural water management, agricultural markets, value chains, impact analysis of developmental programmes, technology adoption, international trade, energy and climate change in agriculture. He served as assistant professor at the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru, from July 2012 till August 2019 and from September 2019, he is serving as Director (Evaluation) at Karnataka Evaluation Authority, Planning, Programme Monitoring and Statistics Department, Government of Karnataka.Suman K. Sourav is a social science researcher who holds a joint masters’ degree in rural development from Ghent University in Belgium, Humbolt University in Germany and the University of Pisa in Italy. He had started his education in agricultural sciences at Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth agricultural university in Maharashtra, India. Prior to joining DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) FOR2432-Project A01 as a doctoral researcher, he worked in a variety of Indian and international research organizations, including Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, Institute for Social and Economic Change, The International Water Management Institute, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, and Precision Agriculture for Development. Suman’s PhD study deals with plant growth, water quality, carbon and nutrient flows in rural–urban cropping systems at different spatial scales in Bengaluru. His area of interest mainly lies in sustainable development of agricultural ecosystem in developing countries.
