Dr Prabhat Kumar

Horticulture Commissioner with the Government of India

Dr Prabhat Kumar is the Horticulture Commissioner with the Government of India, and previously he was the National Coordinator ICAR-National Agricultural High Education Project. He is also a member of the Board of Management and the academic council in state agricultural universities.

Before that, Dr Kumar served in various positions as a Professor and Principle Scientist at many institutions, including several universities and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) where he was actively engaged in teaching, researching and developing four varieties of flower crops. He has published 75 research papers alongside popular articles, book chapters, technical bulletins and books. He established the Model Floriculture Centre under the Horticulture Technology Mission at the Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar.

As National Coordinator, he developed a Monitoring and Evaluation cell and facilitated the establishment of 16 Centres for Advanced Agriculture Science and Technology in cutting-edge areas like genomics, climate-smart, conservation and secondary agriculture.

Dr Kumar has a PhD in Floriculture and Landscaping from IARI. He is also a life member of many professional societies in the field of horticulture and agriculture and has been honoured with awards and fellowships highlighting his important contributions.