Dr Harishchandra Prasad Singh

Founder and Chair of the Confederation of Horticulture Associations of India (CHAI)

Dr H. P. Singh is a renowned expert in agriculture and horticulture who has made outstanding contributions to these fields as a researcher, academic, research manager and chairman of associations, among many other positions, over his long career. Dr Singh is committed to providing scientific and technology-led solutions to emerging challenges.

Dr Singh is the Founder and Chair of the Confederation of Horticulture Associations of India (CHAI). He has had many appointments over his career, including as an Independent Director in agro-companies such as Jagaon and Vindhyachal Agro, Chairperson of the Accreditation Committee of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Horticulture Commissioner at the Ministry of Agriculture and a board member for several universities. As an academic, Dr Singh has guided many PhD and MSc students and established an education management institute.

Dr Singh promotes cluster-based development and the formation of farmer producer organisations in various capacities. As part of India’s Technology Mission on Horticulture, between 1998 and 2003 he was the first to initiate a cluster-based approach for the development of horticulture. Dr Singh was also involved in the formation of farmers’ associations for various crop commodities that were integrated into the Confederation of Indian Horticulture. His work in these areas helped fuel India’s “Golden Revolution” of the 1990s and early 2000s, which saw horticulture production greatly increase.

Dr Singh’s contributions have earned him 4 international and 41 national awards as well as 13 fellowships, including a Fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Dr Singh was also the recipient of the National Academy of Agricultural Science’s M. S. Randhawa Memorial Award in 2025. He has authored and edited 65 books, 37 bulletins and has published more than 315 scientific papers, as well as organising 25 international conferences and more than 105 national conferences, national dialogues and workshops.