Grasspea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is a climate-smart legume crop with adaptation to fragile agroecosystems. The genus Lathyrus is recognized for its vast genetic diversity, encompassing over 160 species, many of which are cultivated for various purposes...
Shiv Kumar Agrawal

Dr. Shiv Kumar Agrawal is ICARDA’s regional coordinator for South Asia and China and head of the Food Legumes Program, which aims to deliver improved germplasm of lentil, kabuli chickpea, faba bean, and grass pea to national partners in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, West Asia, and North Africa. He works on developing short-duration, climate-smart varieties of lentil and grass pea, with high iron and zinc content for the sustainable intensification of cereal-based cropping systems.
During his three-decade career he has worked with national and international partners to develop 39 lentil, five mungbean, two urdbean, one rice, and three grass pea varieties. He has published 160 peer-reviewed journal articles, 68 book chapters, nine books, seven technical bulletins, and two training manuals. He also supervises students for master’s and Ph.D. research, and trains national partners in legume improvement.
Dr. Agrawal holds a Ph.D. in plant breeding from the Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, India.