Dr. Sohan Singh Walia earned his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Agronomy from Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana. He joined PAU as Assistant Professor in 1995 and became Principal Agronomist in 2010. As a Ph.D. student (2001–04), he initiated organic farming research at PAU and has since contributed extensively to organic and integrated farming systems under national projects. Dr. Walia has authored over 650 publications, including 20 books, 11 teaching manuals, and 28 book chapters, and has led 30 research projects, with five ongoing. His efforts led to the inclusion of organic and integrated farming systems in PAU’s Package of Practices, along with 97 farmer-focused recommendations, such as direct-seeded rice and resource-conserving systems. He developed an Integrated Farming System model combining dairy, fishery, horticulture, and agroforestry. He has guided six Ph.D. and twelve M.Sc. students, taught 93 courses, organized 32 trainings, delivered over 500 lectures, and participated in 100 workshops.
Awards and Recognitions:
- S.S. Labh Singh Gold Medal.
- Dr. Gurbaksh Singh Gill Gold Medal.
- Fellow, Society of Environmental Sciences.
- Fellow, Indian Ecological Society.
- Young Scientist Award got from Society for Recent Development in Agriculture.
- ISA P. S. Deshmukh Young Agronomist Award (2005) by Indian Society of Agronomy
- AICRP on integrated Farming System Ludhiana centre was considered as one of the best centres during QRT review for the period of 2006-07 to 2010-11.
- Dr MS Randhawa Best Book Prize-2017.
- Best Centre Award (2018-19) for Network Project on Organic Farming by IIFSR, Modipuram, Meerut
- Dr H S Sandhu Memorial Award -2021
- AICRP on Integrated Farming System, on-farm research centre received the Best Centre Award (2023) from ICAR- Indian Institute of Farming Systems Research, Modipuram, Meerut.
- AICRP on Integrated Farming System, on-station Ludhiana centre received SECOND TIME the Best Centre Award (2023) from ICAR- Indian Institute of Farming Systems Research, Modipuram, Meerut.
- Best Film Award by MANAGE, Hyderabad-2024
- Merit and Plaque certificate for the outstanding work in organic and integrated farming systems, PAU, Ludhiana- 2024
- Gold medal for the outstanding work in organic and integrated farming systems, FSRDA, ICAR-IIFSR, Modipuram, Meerut- 2024