About

 Dr. Prachanda Pradhan is a leading scholar who has been promoting values and benefits of farmer managed irrigation system in Nepal and other developing countries for last 35 years. He focused his work on primarily three disciplines: Irrigation Management, Community Development, and Public Administration. He has published several books, articles, and journals in these fields, and collaborated with Lin Ostrom, Nobel Laureate in publishing a book “Improving Irrigation in Asia: Sustainable Performance of an Innovative Intervention in Nepal”. His books “A Guide to the Constitution Of Nepal” published in 1965, “Political Science in Nepal” published in 1966 and “Public Administration in Nepal” published in 1976 made him a prominent intellect. These books are widely used in academic fields and are currently used as reference for historic insights in Public Administration in Nepal. His book “Pattern of Irrigation Organization in Nepal: A Comparative Study of 21 Farmer-Managed Irrigation Systems” published in 1989 and his publication “Increase Agricultural Production in Nepal: Role of Low-Cost Irrigation Development Through Farmer Participation” published in 1989 have been the foundation of his work on Farmers Managed Irrigation System. His global experience and expertise in this field is showcased in multiple publications on Irrigation Management in Nepal, Bhutan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Lao PDR, Vietnam, Nigeria, Niger and Guyana(https://prachandashare.wordpress.com).

Prachanda Pradhan, born in 1939, was Professor of Public Administration in Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal from 1970 until 1980. He earned his Ph.D in Government from Claremont Graduate School and University Center, Claremont, California, USA in 1969. He became the youngest Dean of Institute of Business Administration – Tribhuvan University, Nepal in 1972 and served in this position until 1975. He was a Research Associate at the John Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA in 1972 and Fulbright Visiting Professor at the Center for International Studies, Cornell University, USA in 1979. He was a visiting Scholar at Workshop in Political Theory and Political Analysis (Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Political Analysis), Indiana University, USA in 2002.

He has an extensive working experience in Asian and African countries, and worked for International Irrigation Management Institute (IWMI) from 1986-1993. He has worked in multiple Irrigation Management, Community Development and Policy Development projects with various International organizations such as World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank(ADB), GTZ (Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit), InWEnt-Germany, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). He has several books and papers to his credits and is listed in https://prachandashare.wordpress.com.

He is passionate about community and health development. He has been engaged with Nepal Heart Foundation, Nepal in defining its Vision and Missions and serving as an executive member of the organization. He is a vigorous activist in preventing heart diseases, and works with Nepal Heart Foundation to bring awareness in the community.

When an earthquake flattened the mountain village – Dhap, Nepal in 2015 and damaged their crucial irrigation system, he was instrumental in helping to rehabilitate their irrigation system in 7 weeks to be ready for paddy plantation season. He has raised $8600 from his friends and families from different parts of the world for construction materials and paddy seeds, and provided technical support through his organization – Farmer Managed Irrigation Systems Promotion Trust. His contribution to this effort is well recognized and appreciated by the farmers in Dhap region.

He is at present a member of the Steering Committee of Ostrom Center for Advanced Study of Natural Resources (OCeAN) at Asian Institute of Technology, (AIT), Bangkok, Thailand. He is also co-coordinator PURDnet, Bangkok, Thailand. (webpage: PURDnet.wordpress.com). He is a member of the Board of External Advisers of South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance in North South University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is also a Visiting Professor at Central Campus of Public Administration, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Contact address: pradhanpp@hotmail.com