Message From Vice Chancellor
Prof. Aldas Janaiah, Hon’ble Vice Chancellor
Agriculture, an integral part of our culture, decides the direction of the country in terms of socio-economic development. Today, we have moved from traditional farming to use of automated precision methods to speed up tasks at hand. Technology has taken over our lives and farming is no exception, adopting changes which are efficient, accurate and productive, into its culture. Backed up by a young scientific community teeming with innovators and entrepreneurs, encouraged by the Government’s proactive policies to enable agriculture as a primary contributor to GDP of our country, the field of agriculture has never shown more promise.
With 34 years of rich professional experience, Professor Janaiah has held several impactful positions, including Economist at IRRI (Philippines) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) – Vietnam Resident Mission, Hanoi, for six years. He also served the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) as Scientist and Senior Scientist for 16 years. His academic engagements include a two-year tenure as Visiting Professor at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, an institute of the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai.
He has held several key academic and administrative roles over 16 years at ANGRAU and PJTAU, serving as Professor, Head of Department, Associate Dean, and University Board Member. From 2022 to 2024, he worked as a Food Loss and Waste Management Specialist with ADB (Bangkok) and as India Program Coordinator for the International Commodity Institute, California.
Professor Janaiah is widely recognized for his policy research that led to the landmark Bt Cotton Seed Pricing Reform (2005–06), which reduced the seed price from ₹1850 to ₹750 per packet in Andhra Pradesh, an achievement that greatly benefited millions of farmers across India. He also played a key role in securing a special grant of ₹100 crore for Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University under the Union Budget of 2012–13. With professional exposure in 36 countries, he has contributed extensively to agricultural policy development and impact assessment across Asia and Africa.
His exceptional contributions have earned him numerous accolades, including the Outstanding Academic Leadership Award (2012) from the Government of Maryland, USA, for promoting US–India academic collaboration; the Best State Level Scientist Award (2012) from the Government of Andhra Pradesh; and the Best Scientist Award (2002) from IRRI for outstanding research on the rice economy.
A dedicated academician, Professor Janaiah has supervised over 70 postgraduate and doctoral students in Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Management. He has authored 65 peer-reviewed research papers, contributed more than 100 editorial articles in both Telugu and English, and presented over 100 conference papers. He has also led 17 major research projects focused on technology impact assessment, irrigation economics, and agricultural policy analysis.
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