Our Team

The vision behind NAFPO is pulsated by Shri Pravesh Sharma, who is the Founder and Chairs the Steering Committee. He is a former 1982 batch IAS officer with deep experience in the agriculture sector. He took voluntary retirement after 34 years of service. In his long association with the sector, he served as Secretary, Agriculture in the Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, as India Representative of the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Visiting Fellow at Princeton University and most recently (2010-2015) as MD of the Small Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC), Govt. of India. He initiated the campaign to promote farmer producer organisations at SFAC and helped register over 1000 FPOs across the country. Pravesh Sharma has written extensively on issues of agriculture, rural development and related issues and widely published in journals and newspapers. Currently, he is leading as the CEO of Kamatan Farm Tech Pvt Ltd. that works on building inclusive and sustainable agriculture value chains.

Anish is the Managing Trustee for NAFPO and has invested over 20 years on working for small and marginal farmers. He has been on the leadership team at India’s leading non-profit PRADAN, working on rural transformation. He integrated the finance function, involving raising resources, statutory compliance, and building and managing linkages with stakeholders. His areas of expertise include creating business organizations run by poor communities and facilitating participation of small-holder farmers in modern value chains. Anish developed and piloted the small-holder poultry prototype; was the CEO of the first poultry co-operative; and then scaled up the model across new geographies. He is a Board member of the National Smallholder Poultry Development Trust, an advisory and policy advocacy body. Anish has been a member of the Planning Commission Working Group on disadvantaged farmers, and has been involved in designing of policies on producer collectives. Currently, he is leading Transform Rural India as the Managing Director.

Baskar promotes NAFPO on key activities and endeavours. He leads Syngenta Foundation India as the Country Director since 2013. From 2005-13, he directed the Agriculture, Food Processing and Water divisions at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. He worked closely there with the Ministry of Agriculture on policy formulation and implementation in agricultural marketing, extension, warehousing, machinery and food processing. Baskar was instrumental in India's new Public-Private Partnership for Integrated Agriculture Development. He holds a Ph.D. in Soil and Water Conservation Engineering from IARI, New Delhi. In March 2014, the Indian government nominated Baskar to its national Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture.

Aneesha anchors as the Lead for Institutions and Partnerships at NAFPO. She is currently responsible for strategizing key activities, enhancing the efficiency by strengthening foundational attributes and integrating strategies into actionable plans. She also works on building partnerships with stakeholders to facilitate opportunities to fulfill the objective of NAFPO. She has previously worked with Rajasthan State Rural Livelihood Mission with women led federations in establishing strong community institutions (including FPOs), local livelihood models and convergence with government schemes. Aneesha holds a post-graduation degree from Tata Institute of Social Science, Mumbai in Livelihoods and Social Entrepreneurship. 

Vijayaragavan Ramanujam is a consultant (Initiatives and Leadership) with NAFPO since 2019 and has as over 10 years of experience in the sector focusing on market linkages, business management and risk management of FPOs. He has worked with multiple FPOs, conducted trainings on business management and has presented concept papers on managing risks at FPOs to Echoing green Fellowship and the Clinton Global Initiative. He is an Aeronautical Engineer with a Post Graduate Diploma in Liberal Arts from Ashoka University.

Vaishali Gite is an accomplished professional with a strong background in strategic consulting, capacity building, and project management. Currently serving as the Consultant for Institutions and Partnerships at NAFPO, she is responsible for strategizing key activities and integrating strategies into actionable plans.

With experience working with the Rajasthan State Rural Livelihood Mission, Vaishali has successfully established community institutions, including Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), and developed effective local livelihood models. Her contributions to the Indiabulls Foundation as a CSR Executive and her work with the Bihar State Minister on governance reflect her commitment to social impact and policy implementation. Additionally, she has worked with NETRI Foundation as a Programme Manager, further expanding her expertise.

Vaishali holds a post-graduation degree from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, specializing in Children and Families.