CropLife India gets new leadership, Dr Gyanendra Shukla takes charge as chairman

New Delhi: CropLife India has elected Dr Gyanendra Shukla, Managing Director and CEO of Rallis India Limited, as Chairman of its Board, with Rajvir Rathi of Bayer Crop Science and Giridhar Ranuva of BASF Agricultural Solutions India appointed as Vice Chairmen.

The leadership changes were announced following the association’s 46th Annual General Meeting in New Delhi.

Dr Shukla moves to the chairmanship after serving as Vice Chairman since October 2025. He succeeds Ankur Aggarwal, Managing Director of Crystal Crop Protection, who led the association for two terms. The Board also acknowledged the contribution of outgoing Vice Chairman Mohan Babu Boppana of Bayer CropScience.

CropLife India represents 17 research and development driven companies in the crop protection sector. According to the association, its members account for around 75 per cent of the domestic crop protection market and are responsible for about 95 per cent of the crop protection molecules introduced in India.

Focus on innovation and faster technology adoption

The new leadership has outlined a science and innovation-led agenda at a time when Indian agriculture is facing increasing pressure from climate change, changing pest patterns and the need to raise productivity from limited agricultural land.

Dr Shukla, who has more than 35 years of experience in crop protection and seeds across India, the Asia-Pacific region and Africa, said India would need to produce significantly more food from essentially the same land over the next decade.

He stressed the importance of science, innovation and faster adoption of agricultural technologies, while also calling for a regulatory environment that supports innovation and protects the safety and efficacy data generated for new crop protection products.

Rajvir Rathi, who heads Agricultural Affairs and Policy at Bayer Crop Science, brings more than two decades of experience in regulatory and government affairs. He has also led CropLife India’s Advocacy and Communications Committee since its formation.

Rathi emphasised safe and responsible use of crop protection products, along with the need for farmers to have confidence that products purchased through both traditional dealers and digital platforms are genuine and traceable.

Giridhar Ranuva, Business Director of BASF Agricultural Solutions India, brings 23 years of industry experience, including 16 years with BASF Agricultural Solutions across different regions.

He pointed to the changing pest landscape under climate change, noting that farmers may increasingly face earlier pest emergence, longer pest cycles and the spread of pests into new regions. He highlighted the potential of combining chemistry, biologicals, drones and digital advisory tools to help farmers respond more effectively.

The new leadership comes as the crop protection sector seeks to balance farm productivity, food security, responsible use of agricultural inputs and climate resilience. CropLife India said it will continue working with the Government, scientific community and farmers towards a safe, productive and sustainable future for Indian agriculture.