Pioneering Indian ecologist to deliver free public lecture at the Royal Agricultural University
11 April 2025
Pioneering Indian ecologist, farmer, and scientist Dr Debal Deb is to deliver a free public lecture at the Royal Agricultural University next month.
Dr Deb has worked with farmers in eastern India to conserve indigenous seed diversity and, over almost two decades, he has managed to save more than 1,000 varieties of rice, all of which he stores in community-based seed banks in West Bengal and Odisha where they can be made available for farmers.
He is visiting the Cirencester-based University on Monday 12th May and will spend the day in sessions with students about his work before delivering a free public lecture "Preserving Biocultural Diversity through citizens’ action for effective safeguarding of biotic wealth and diversity" in the University’s Boutflour Hall.
The visit has been organised by RAU Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Land Management Dr Jonathan Code and Dr Atenchong Talleh Nkobou, RAU Senior Lecturer in International Rural Development.
Dr Code, who is also the programme leader of the University’s Environment, Food and Society courses and heads the RAU’s MSc in Agroecology, said: “We are delighted to welcome Dr Debal Deb to the RAU. His tireless work to enhance seed and food sovereignty in Eastern India stands as a beacon for how such action can be undertaken.
“Along with his work to protect and conserve more than 1,400 unique rice varieties in Eastern India, Dr Deb has focused on the entwined events of the loss of indigenous plant knowledge with changes in society and ecological breakdown.
“He has witnessed first-hand the decimation and loss of local and regional biodiversity in Eastern India under the push for commercially valued exotic species which has resulted in an ever-depleted biotic landscape.”
The lecture will take place from 6.30pm in the Boutflour Hall at the University’s Cirencester campus. Everyone is welcome and tickets are free but booking is essential. Please visit https://preservingbioculturaldiversity.eventbrite.co.uk to reserve your free tickets.
Earlier in the day, Dr Code and Dr Talleh Nkobou will host two sessions with Dr Deb to look at seed saving and preserving biocultural diversity.
From 10am to 12pm they will visit the GREAT Zerodig site which is managed and run by the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) South West on land close to the University campus. And, between 1pm and 3pm, Dr Deb will meet with students to discuss the challenges of development thinking and its impact on biocultural diversity.
While these daytime sessions are mainly for RAU students and academic staff, members of the public are welcome to attend both these sessions too if they are interested. Please contact Dr Code (jonathan.code@rau.ac.uk) for details.
Dr Talleh Nkobou, programme leader of the RAU’s MSc in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security Programme, is also Principal Investigator for the ESRC Funded Reversing the Gaze Project.
He said: “The world is in a state of polycrisis where multiple interconnected crises converge and amplify each other. These include geopolitical, economic, humanitarian and environmental crises.
“Dr Deb’s scholarly activities on development thinking and practice - including his book Beyond Developmentality Constructing Inclusive Freedom and Sustainability - encourages us to rethink approaches to development.”
Dr Code added: “Meaningful action is seriously needed to save, preserve, and promote biocultural diversity in all regions of the globe. Dr Deb advocates for citizens’ action for effective safeguarding of region biotic wealth and diversity.
“His work, and that of the farmers of his area, attest to the potential for grassroots and regional citizen action to contribute to safeguarding and making more resilient local food ecosystems.”