B. V. Nimbkar

Bonbehari Vishnu Nimbkar is an Indian agricultural scientist and social worker, known for his pioneering work in the fields of animal husbandry and agriculture. He is the founder of Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute, a Phaltan-based non governmental organization engaged in research and development in animal husbandry and agriculture. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2006, for his contributions to Indian agricultural sector. In November 2016 he was given the Jamnalal Bajaj Award for application of science and technology for rural applications.

Biography

B. V. Nimbkar, born on 17 July 1931 to Kamala and Vishnu Nimbkar, graduated from the George School, in the US where his parents were settled. After securing a master's degree (MS) from the University of Arizona, he returned to India in 1956, he started farming in Phaltan, a village in western Maharashtra and is reported to have started a seed processing plant with financial assistance from Rockefeller Foundation. In 1968, he founded the Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI), a non profit non governmental organization, for advanced research in agriculture. The organization has since grown to include activities in animal husbandry and has a subsidiary under the name, NARI Seeds, which is credited with the introduction of pure-bred Boer goats for the first time in India.

Nimbkar remained the president of NARI till 1990 and the organization is presently headed by his daughters, Nandini Nimbkar and Chanda Nimbker and Nandini's husband, Anil K. Rajvanshi. The organization is reported to have had many achievements such as the development of 2009 Global Sustainability Research Award winning Lantern-cum-stove, development of NARI Suwarna strain of Deccani sheep, method for artificial insemination in goats using frozen buck semen, breeding of high-yielding Southern African Boer sheep and development of hybrid sweet sorghum. The activities have earned the organization several awards including the Science and Technology Innovation for Rural Development Award of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in 2007. Nimbkar has documented his researches by way of several articles published in national and international journals. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2006.

Selected bibliography

• Nimbkar C., J.H.J. van der Werf, P.M. Ghalsasi1, B.V. Nimbkar, and S.W.Walkden-Brown. "Potential introgression pathways and strategies for wider use of the FecB gene in Maharashtra state and other parts of India". ACIAR, Australia.  CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
• B. V. Nimbkar; Nandini Nimbkar; N. Zende (1986). "Desertification of Western Maharashtra: Causes and possible solutions. I. Comparative growth of eight tree species". ResearchGate. 
• B. V. Nimbkar (December 1967). "A Word of Warning on Hybrids". Economic and Political Weekly. II (47). 
• B. V. Nimbkar (October 1967). "Jumble of Sundry Facts". Economic and Political Weekly. IV (40). 
• B. V. Nimbkar (February 1988). "The Greening of Maharashtra". Economic and Political Weekly. XXIII (8).