Dr. Manmeet Kaur joined PAU as Assistant Professor at KVK Samrala on 07.06.2005 after completing B.Sc. Agriculture (Hons) and M.Sc. (Extension Education) from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana in the year 1999 and 2002 respectively. She did her in-service PhD (Extension Education) from PAU, Ludhiana in 2013. She has worked as Research Fellow in the Department of Extension Education from 2002-2004. She joined the department of Extension Education as Assistant Professor in Dec 2007. She was promoted as Associate Professor on 08.06.2018 and Professor on 08.06.2021 (till date). She held the additional charge of Assistant Warden Hostel No 6 for five years. Her field of specialization is Farmers’ Training and Education. She has completed five research projects funded by ICAR, DST, RKVY, ICSSR and JPAL-IFMR as Principal Investigator in the year 2016, 2021, 2023 and 2024 respectively and two projects funded by NHM and DST as Co-PI in 2010 and 2021 respectively. She has guided 11 M.Sc students and 4 PhD students as major advisor, published 40 research papers in national and international journals and presented 25 papers in national and international conferences. She has delivered 200 lectures to guide farmers, entrepreneurs, extension personnel and faculty. She is the chairperson of the academic committee of the department since 2015 and Joint secretary of the Alumni Association of College of Agriculture since 2024. She is the Councilor of Indian Society of Extension Education (Ludhiana chapter).

Positions Held: 

Assistant Professor, KVK Samrala (2005-2007); Assistant Professor, PAU, Ludhiana (2007-till date)

Field of Specialization: Farmers’ Training and Education

Research Interests:

1. Methodologies for behavioural change and decision-making in farmers for adopting sustainable and climate-resilient agricultural practices.
2. Innovative extension methodologies and participatory approaches for accelerating technology diffusion in farming communities.
3. Policy-oriented impact assessment of agricultural interventions, schemes, and conservation practices using experimental research methodology.
4. Capacity building and competency alignment in agricultural education to meet evolving farmer and industry needs.

Research Projects:

Completed as (PI) 

1. Gap Analysis of Higher Agricultural Education Competencies for Industrial and Farmers’ Needs in Northern India (As PI) from 04.08.16 -31.03.17 funded by ICAR with an amount of Rs 4,74,000/-.
2. Impact assessment of Happy Seeder Technology and its popularization among farmers (As PI) funded by DST SEED Division with a budget of Rs. 34,94,866/-
3. Screening of extension methodologies for strengthening diffusion dynamics of Direct Seeded Rice in Punjab with a budget of Rs 3,00,000/-
4. Impact evaluation of Watershed Development and Micro-irrigation components of PM Krishi Sinchai Yojana in select areas of Punjab and Haryana funded by ICSSR with an amount of Rs 14,00,000/-
5. Machine, Mobilization or Money: What is most effective in curbing crop residue burning? funded by JPAL-IFMR

Completed as (Co-PI) 

1. Post-harvest processing and management of fruits in Punjab- Its Status and Market Led Extension challenges (As Co-Principal Investigator) from 2010 to 2012; funded by National Horticulture Mission, New Delhi with an amount of Rs. 8,26,000/-
2. Farmers’ livelihood security and sustainability through integrated nutrient management funded by DST SEED Division with a budget of Rs. 21,16,716/-

Selected Research Publications:

• Kaur M, Singh D, Anand A and Singh T (2023) Do attributes of happy seeder technology influence its adoption speed? An investigation using duration analysis in Northern India. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 21:1, 2198324, DOI: 10.1080/14735903.2023.2198324 (Impact factor: 3.56)
• Mohapatra L, Sharma V, Setia RK, Kaur M,  Al-Shuraym LA, Sayed S, Gaber A and Hossain A (2024) Assessing fertiliser-induced adulteration and nutrient imbalance in paddy-growing soils in Punjab, India. Paddy Water Environ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-024-00987-5. (Impact Factor 1.9)
• Deepika, Kaur M and Setia R (2018) Farmers’ perception on their vulnerability towards weather variability in maize crop in Punjab. Journal of Agrometeorology. 20: 221-227 (NAAS rating -6.40)
• Singh T, Kaur M and Singh G (2021) Extent of adoption of Happy Seeder technology among the farmers of Punjab, India. Indian Journal of Extension Education. 57: 75-79. (NAAS rating -5.32)
• Ramandeep and Kaur M (2021) Impacts of waterlogging and the management practices adopted by the farmers in waterlogged areas of Punjab. Journal of community Mobilization and sustainable development.16: 319-324. (NAAS rating -5.30)

Book published:

Roy P and Kaur M (2019) Conservation Agriculture & Residue Management – Lessons from Punjab & WB. LAP Lambert Academic Publishing. ISBN: 978-620-0-43606-1; pp 120

Awards/Honours/Distinctions:

• Received Presidential Appreciation Award by the Society for Community Mobilization for Sustainable Development in the 7th National Seminar on Sustainable Rural Livelihood: Technological and Institutional Perspective at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Jammu, Chatha, Jammu (J&K), India.
• Best paper award at National Seminar on Agro-meteorology for Sustainable Development with special emphasis on Agrometeorological Practices for Climate Resilient Farming and Food Security, HAU, Hisar for the paper “Farmers’ perception on their vulnerability towards weather variability in maize crop in Punjab.”