Professor of Practice and Fellow at The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

Dr. Manjit K. Misra has had a transformational global impact on food and nutrition security…the road to peace in the world.

Misra served as the Professor and Director of the Seed Science Center at Iowa State University and the Center faculty developed national seed systems in 79 countries including 34 countries of Africa to help feed the poor. After retiring from Iowa State University, Misra served as the Director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) until March 2025. NIFA administered funding of approximately $2B annually to over one hundred universities in the nation to conduct cutting edge research, extension and education in areas of national importance. Under his leadership, NIFA invested $262M in the NextGen program with an ambitious goal of educating 25,000 future leaders in five years and his team received the USDA Secretary’s award for workforce development.

Misra is a scholar with 137 publications and a co-inventor on 10 US and international patents. He has served on numerous national and international committees, including chairing the National Genetic Resources Advisory Council. He received several awards including the Distinguished Service Award from the American Seed Trade Association, the Order of the Knoll award from Iowa State University, the Global Engagement award from the American Society of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineers and the Global Academic Leadership award from the Indian Council of Food and Agriculture.

Last year, the President of India conferred an honorary Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) degree on Misra for his contributions to agriculture.