Agenda

Monday, September 8 | Day 1

08:15 - 9:00 | Registration

• We invite you to check in and pick up your event materials. 

09:00 - 09:50 | Namaste, India: Welcome to DialogueNEXT

• Mashal Husain | President, World Food Prize Foundation
• Mangi Lal Jat | Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education, India and Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research
• Bram Govaerts | 2014 World Food Prize Foundation Borlaug Field Award Recipient, Director General, CIMMYT and Director General, Borlaug Institute for South Asia
• Rajendra Singh Paroda | Chairman, Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences and Former Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education, India and Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research

09:50 - 10:00 | Keynote Address by Chief Guest | NEXT Stop: From Iowa to India 

• Hon. Kim Reynolds | Governor, State of Iowa, United States 

10:00 - 10:10 | Keynote Address | NEXT Gains for Every Farmer

• Vikas Chaudhary | Farmer in Haryana, India

10:10 - 10:20 | Keynote Address | AgNEXT: Bridging Fields from Des Moines to Delhi

• Hon. Mike Naig | Secretary of Agriculture, State of Iowa, United States

10:20 - 10:45 | Fireside Chat | The NEXT Innovative Policies

• Facilitator: Alison Laing | Agroecologist, CIMMYT 
• Ramesh Chand | Member (Agriculture), NITI Aayog and Member, CGIAR Integrated Partnership Board

10:45 - 11:15 | NEXTwork Break with Chai

11:15 - 12:00 | Agriculture without Borders: The NEXT South-South Collaboration

• Facilitator: Mangi Lal Jat | Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education, India and Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research
• Indra Mani Pandey | Secretary General, Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation​​​​​​
• M Riaz Hamidullah | High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India, Bangladesh High Commission
• Víctor Manuel Villalobos Arámbula | Member, World Food Prize Foundation Council of Advisors and Special Envoy of the Secretary of Agriculture, Government of Mexico
• Govinda Prasad Sharma | Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Government of Nepal
• Thinley Namgyel | Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Royal Government of Bhutan

12:00 - 12:20 | Keynote Address | Farming the NEXT Horizon

• Ajay Kumar Sood | Principal Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister of India and Board Member, CIMMYT

12:20 - 12:30 | Indian States NEXT Leap Forward

• Prasanna Boddupalli | 2025 Top Agri-Food Pioneer, Managing Director, Borlaug Institute for South Asia and Regional Director for Asia, CIMMYT

12:30 - 12:45 | World Food Prize Foundation Inspiring the NEXT Generation Award Presentation

• Mashal Husain | President, World Food Prize Foundation

13:00 - 14:00 | The NEXT Course: Lunch and Networking

14:00 - 14:10 | Keynote Address | Feeding the NEXT Billion: The State of Food Security and Nutrition in Asia and Beyond

• Máximo Torero Cullen | Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 

14:10 - 14:45 | Sowing the NEXT Season of Peace Through Agriculture

• Facilitator: Máximo Torero Cullen | Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 
• Sharon Burke | Chief Engagement Officer, CIMMYT 
• Devesh Chaturvedi | Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India
• Alka Nangia Arora | Financial Advisor, Indian Air Force

14:45 - 14:50 | Peace for the NEXT Generation: Agricultural Resilience for Conflict Prevention Initiative

• Bram Govaerts | 2014 World Food Prize Foundation Borlaug Field Award Recipient, Director General, CIMMYT and Director General, Borlaug Institute for South Asia

14:50 - 15:00 | Farmer-Centric NEXT Innovations

• Trilochan Mohapatra | Chairperson, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority and Former Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research

15:00 - 15:30 | NEXTwork Break with Chai

15:30 - 16:30 | Taking Innovation and Technologies to the NEXT Level

• Facilitator: Veda Krishna | Senior Scientist, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute
• Pana Devi | Farmer in Rajasthan, India
• Brent Johnson | President, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation 
• Bharat Char | Chief Science Officer, Mahyco
• Joe Roberts | President, Iowa Corn Promotion Board 
• Nidhi Bhasin | CEO, Digital Green  
• Satendra Mangrauthia | Senior Scientist, ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research
• Jessica Hyland | Executive Director, Iowa Biotechnology Association 

16:30 - 16:45 | Announcement of Action | NEXT - ACASA

16:45 - 17:15 | Science at Work: NEXT Steps for Smallholder Harvests

• Facilitator: Archna Vyas | Director, Program Advocacy and Communications: Growth, Opportunity and Empowerment, Gates Foundation 
• Krishan Prasad Timsina | Executive Director, Nepal Agricultural Research Council
• Pratap Singh Birthal | Director, ICAR-National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research
• Hasan Md. Hamidur Rahman | Director, Computer and GIS Unit, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council 
• Arti Bhatia | Principal Scientist, Indian Council of Agricultural Research
• Pramod Aggarwal | Regional Program Leader, Borlaug Institute for South Asia 

17:15 - 17:30 | Reset for What’s NEXT

Tuesday, September 9 | Day 2 

08:30 - 09:00 | Registration

• We invite you to check-in and pick up your event materials. 

09:00 - 09:15 | Fireside Chat | The NEXT Solutions for Smallholder Success

• Facilitator: Madhulika Singh | Agriculture Specialist and Physiologist, CIMMYT
• Punam Devi | Farmer in Bihar, India
• Sima Devi | Farmer in Bihar, India

9:15 - 9:25 | Keynote Address | Transformative and Sustainable Agriculture with Prosperous Farmers

• Anil Jain | Vice Chairman and CEO, Jain Irrigation Systems Limited

09:25 - 10:10 | Krishi Jyoti: Enlightening and Empowering the NEXT Farmers

• Facilitator: Jay Sehgal | Executive Vice President, S M Sehgal Foundation  
• Khurshid Ahmed | Farmer in Haryana, India
• Rekha Devi | Farmer in Rajasthan, India
• Robin Edwin | Country Head and Managing Director, Mosaic India

10:10 - 10:25 | Keynote Address | NEXT-Generation Agriculture

• Himanshu Pathak | President, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, India and Director General, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics

10:25 - 11:10 | Agriculture’s Quiet Architects: Tending the NEXT Landscapes

• Facilitator: Purvi Mehta | Member, World Food Prize Foundation Council of Advisors
• Chetna Bai Sahu | Farmer in Madhya Pradesh, India
• Prasanna Boddupalli | 2025 Top Agri-Food Pioneer, Managing Director, Borlaug Institute for South Asia and Regional Director for Asia, CIMMYT
• Sandeep Kondaji | Founder and CEO, Krishitantra
• Srinivasa Rao Cherukumalli | Director and Vice-Chancellor, ICAR–Indian Agricultural Research Institute
• Yashpal Saharawat | Director, Resilience and Environment, International Fertilizer Development Center

11:10 - 11:45 | NEXTwork Break with Chai

11:45 - 12:30 | Reimagining the NEXT Stage of Nutrition and Food Systems

• Facilitator: Simon Heck | Director General, International Potato Center
• Kalaiselvi Sasikumar | Farmer in Tamil Nadu, India
• E.D. Israel Oliver King | Director, Biodiversity, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation
• Kalyani Raghunathan | Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute
• Shirley Tarawali | Assistant Director General, International Livestock Research Institute
• Devendra Kumar Yadava | Deputy Director General, Crop Science, Indian Council of Agricultural Research

12:30 - 13:00 | Crafting the NEXT Plate

• Anahita Dhondy Bhandari | Chef and Author

13:00 - 14:00 | The NEXT Course: Lunch and Networking

14:00 - 14:25 | Fireside Chat | NEXT Pathways to Improved Value Chains and Markets for Farmers

• Facilitator: Eilidh Kennedy | Director, InterAgency Research and Analysis Network
• Nilima Jorwar | Founder and Executive Director, Kalsubai Millets Farmers Producer Company
• Swati Nayak | 2023 World Food Prize Borlaug Field Award Recipient and Scientist, International Rice Research Institute

14:25 - 14:35 | The NEXT Chapter in Sustainability and Responsible Sourcing

• Chris Stevens | Director, Global Agribusiness, Kellanova

14:35 - 15:20 | Rapid-Fire Keynotes | From Ideas to Markets: Cultivating the NEXT Opportunity

• Facilitator: Venkata Subbarao Kolli | Member, S M Sehgal Foundation Board of Trustees and Partner, AgVayā 
• Ezhil Subbian | CEO and Co-Founder, String Bio 
• Ramchandra Kaundinya | Partner, AgVayā and Adviser, Federation of Seed Industry of India
• Praveen Malik | CEO, Agrinnovate India and Principal Scientist, Indian Council of Agricultural Research
• T R Kesavan | Board Directors and Group President, Tractors and Farm Equipment
• Daniela Vega | Chief of Staff, CIMMYT and Executive Secretary, CGIAR/CIMMYT – FAO VACS Partnership

15:20 - 15:50 | NEXTwork Break with Chai

15:50 - 16:00 | Legends of the Land

• Recognition of Surinder Vasal | 2000 World Food Prize Laureate

16:00 - 16:45 | Borlaug’s Torch: Lighting the NEXT Pathway

• Facilitator: Rajendra Singh Paroda | Chairman, Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences and Former Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education, India and Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research  
• Saranjeet Singh | Farmer in Uttar Pradesh, India
• Navtej Singh Bains | Former Director of Research, Punjab Agricultural University
• Julie Borlaug | Member, World Food Prize Foundation Council of Advisors and President, Borlaug Foundation and Borlaug Consulting 
• Madhura Swaminathan | Member, World Food Prize Foundation Council of Advisors and Professor and Head of the Economic Analysis Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore Centre
• Usha Barwale Zehr | Chairperson and Executive Director, Grow Indigo

16:45 - 16:55 | Dr. Norman E. Borlaug Innovative Farmer Award

• Presented By: Rajendra Singh Paroda | Chairman, Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences and Former Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education, India and Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research

16:55 - 17:10 | Up NEXT - Accelerating Action

• Facilitator: Julie Borlaug | Member, World Food Prize Foundation Council of Advisors and President, Borlaug Foundation and Borlaug Consulting 
• Francisco Cervantes Díaz | President, Business Coordinating Council of Mexico
• Ashok Chaturvedi | Founder and CMD, Uflex Group India
• Ravishankar Cherukuri | Chief Operating Officer, UPL India

17:10 - 17:25 | What Comes NEXT