Ratan Borpuzari

Assamese agricultural innovator creating flood-resistant rice varieties for climate-vulnerable regions

Ratan Borpuzari, a self-taught botanist from Assam, developed Borpuzari Dhan - rice surviving 25-day submergence in Brahmaputra floods. His 12-year hybridization project combined local Joha aromatic rice with wild Oryza rufipogon species.

The 2015 breakthrough variety yields 4.2 tons/hectare vs traditional 1.8 tons, while maintaining 98-day maturation cycle crucial for floodplain agriculture. Over 37,000 farmers across Bangladesh, Nepal, and Northeast India now cultivate Borpuzari Dhan, reducing post-monsoon hunger months by 60%.

Borpuzari's open-source seed model prevents corporate patenting, ensuring smallholder access. His field schools teach flood-adaptive techniques to 800+ villages, documented in the FAO's Climate Resilience Handbook.

Recognized by National Innovation Foundation, Borpuzari rejects commercial offers to focus on community seed banks. The 2023 documentary Fields of Resilience captures his grassroots revolution against climate change impacts.