Dr. Neelamraju Ganga Prasada Rao (NGP Rao) has been acclaimed as the ‘Father of Hybrid Sorghum’, for leading the green revolution in sorghum (jowar) in rainfed semi-arid regions in India, similar to that for wheat and rice in irrigated regions. As the National Coordinator of the All India Coordinated Sorghum Improvement Project from its inception in 1961 to 1978, he led the visionary and transformative research that transformed traditional risk prone subsistence sorghums in India to significantly higher productive and stable hybrids and varieties. The first commercial sorghum hybrid (CSH-1) was released for the country by 1964, the shortest period ever for commercial hybrids in plant breeding history. The average yields of the rainfed hybrids could be stabilized at about 2000-2500 kg/ha against the national average of only 400-500 kg for the local varieties. Maximum yields of up to 7000kg/ha could be realized under optimal conditions. For this unique achievement, Dr NGP Rao was awarded the C. Subramaniam Individual Gold Medal by ICAR in 1966, and the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar prize in 1967. Between 1965 and 1978, nine commercial sorghum hybrids (CSH 1 to CSH 9) and eight high yielding varieties (CSV 1 to CSV 8R) were released for cultivation with profound impacts in the dryland areas of the States of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, covering an area of over 8-10, mha. The all India productivity of sorghum doubled from about 0.5 tons/ha in early 1970s to over one ton per ha in early 1980s, when only less than a third of the total crop area was under the new hybrids. During 1970-80, the national compound annual growth rate in productivity of sorghum (5.09%) had exceeded that of rice (1.64%) and wheat (1.87%). These developments demonstrated that the green revolution is feasible in the drylands, irrespective of climate fluctuations. They raised dryland farmer incomes substantially, and also led to the development of flourishing seed industry in the country, first in the public sector and later in the private sector.
Dr NGP Rao pioneered a unique approach to the theory and practice of plant breeding to improve tropical sorghums that was based on temperate (exotic) x tropical crosses, and combined both basic and applied aspects of crop genetics and agronomy. The uniqueness was with regard to three aspects. First, till 1960’s, crop improvement research in India on sorghum was based on crosses between only local tropical cultivars. He introduced the idea that radical changes in cultivar improvement were feasible only through temperate (exotic) x tropical crosses. Second, was the development of a systematic breeding methodology to understand the genetics of temperate x tropical crosses of sorghum for genotype alteration for cultivar changes, and documenting it in long series of papers in Indian Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding. Sorghum yield advancement in both tropical and temperate regions of the world now involves temperate x tropical crosses. Third, was the emphasis on simultaneously developing varieties that equalled hybrids in performance, which enabled easy access to the new improved cultivars for small and marginal farmers. This approach helped to lay the foundation of a long term programme for sorghum improvement in India which ensured that significant and stable increases in the crop’s productivity are sustained across different regions and over decades. It also enabled simultaneous incorporation of valuable traits of grain quality, nutritional upgradation, multiple disease and insect resistance, and higher drought resistance and water use efficiency, in the new cultivars.
The success of the sorghum project led by Dr N.G.P. Rao was to become a significant factor for the establishment of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India at Hyderabad, in 1972. His unique plant breeding philosophy and approach was also shown to be relevant and applicable to the semi-arid regions of Africa, when Dr NGP Rao joined in Nigeria as Regional Sorghum Breeder, ICRISAT, in early 1980s. His short stint there led to successful identification of several commercial varieties like SPV34 and SPV35 (S35), and a thriving research programme on sorghum breeding in several countries of West Africa. He was ahead of his times when he anticipated the need to widen the scope of sorghum breeding to its diverse uses, in line with anticipated changes in climate, consumer preferences, nutritional needs, and food and energy industries, and advocated positioning sorghum as a ‘smart crop’ for rainfed semi arid areas.
In addition to serving as Project Coordinator (Sorghum), Dr NGP Rao also served as Head of the IARI Regional Station in Hyderabad during 1970-78. In this capacity, he, established successful plant breeding programmes in pigeon pea, castor, cotton, and groundnut at the centre. Rao and colleagues developed three pigeon-pea varieties, Hy-1, Hy-2, Hy-3A,B&C. which became popular. He also introduced research in genotype-input-management interactions to design efficient dryland inter-cropping systems that combine sorghum with pulses and oilseeds crops in space and time, to optimize performance of the cropping systems as a whole. His work on superior long staple desi cottons with yield potential of American hybrids renewed attention on desi cottons research in the country.
In 1978, Dr NGP Rao was appointed as National Professor of Eminence by ICAR (the first in the series of these Chairs of Excellence established bu ICAR) in recognition of his basic and applied scientific research contributions to advance Indian agriculture. In 1980, he accepted the position of Regional Sorghum Breeder at ICRISAT, to develop a sorghum breeding programme for West Africa. During 1984-87, he was appointed Vice Chancellor of the Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Agricultural University, at Parbhani in Maharashtra, the State with largest area under sorghum. In 1987, he returned to Delhi to hold the position of Chairman, Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board, up to Sept 1992.
Dr NGP Rao also served as FAO/UNDP Consultant on sorghum in Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen, and was, Member, Advisory Committee on sorghum and millet research in some US Universities and for ICRISAT centre in Zimbabwe. He chaired/participated in conferences in Australia, Senegal, Kenya, Zambia, Bosnia, Pakistan, etc. He organized the first international conference on Sorghum on the theme, ‘Sorghum in Seventies’, at Hyderabad in India, and edited its proceedings published by Oxford Press. In India, Dr NGP Rao Chaired Quinquennial Review Committees of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), and Indian Institute of Rice Research, besides advising several other research institutions of ICAR.
After 33 years in research, and one term each as Vice Chancellor, and Chairman, ASRB, Dr NGP Rao retired from formal service in 1992. He continued to guide agricultural research and development programmes and projects in India in advisory capacity. These included two major national research initiatives of ICAR undertaken with World Bank support, the National Agricultural Technology Project (NATP) and National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP). He also edited and published “AP Vision 2020 – Strategy for Sustainable Agricultural Growth”, “Cotton Research in AP”, and “Training for Agricultural Development in India”, and delivered several invited lectures.
Dr NGP Rao was conferred many awards and titles in the course of his distinguished career in agricultural research and development. These included the prestigious national awards: CSIR’s Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Biological Sciences, 1964, and ICAR’s Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Prize for Plant Breeding, 1974-75; State awards of Andhra Pradesh: Telugu Atmagaurav Puraskaram (2003), and Distinguished Scientist Award (2008); Farmer Organization awards: National Tonnage Club of Farmers (1970); Karshak samaj (1978); Industry awards: VASVIK award (1979); AISMAN award (1986); and awards by Scientific Societies, Academies, and Universities. He served as President of the Indian Society of Genetics and Plant Breeding (1981, 1982) and Founder President of the Society for Millets Research (2004). He was also elected to the Fellowship of National Science Academies: INSA , NAS, and NAAS.
Dr NGP Rao strongly and passionately believed in harnessing developments across multiple sciences for ensuring sustainable national food security and farmer prosperity. Equally important was his belief in the need to balance growth and development driven by science with the need to evolve as a responsible society that contributes to human development.
Awards
BVL Narayana gold medal, 1949, College of Agriculture, Bapatla forB.Sc (Agriculture), 1949
C.Subramaniam Individual Award,1966 – Gold Medal for first Commercial Sorghum Hybrid in India (ICAR)
Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize,1967 -for Biological Sciences, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
National Tonnage Club of Farmers Award,1970, Memento, by President of India
Andhra Pradesh Government Award, 1970 – for development of Swarna, the first High Yielding Variety of Jowar
Jennareddy Venkatreddy Memorial prize and Gold Medal, 1972 forResearch in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh
Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Prize, 1975 – for Plant Breeding and Genetics, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for the biennium 1974-75
Vasvik Foundation Award, 1979 – Gold Medal, for contribution to Indian Agriculture
AISMAN Award, 1986 – for development of Sorghum Hybrids and High Yielding varieties, and promoting seed production in India, All India Seed Growers, Merchants & Nurserymen Association
