Agriculture and Horticulture

Biography

Shashi Sharma is Professor and Chair in Biosecurity and Food Security, and Centre Director of Australia-China Centre for Abiotic and Biotic Stress Management in Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry at Murdoch University in Western Australia. Until his appointment at Murdoch University, Professor Sharma was Director of Plant Biosecurity at the Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia from where he is on secondment. He has had a long career in food and agriculture spanning over 35 years and it includes working in several countries in different spheres of agriculture -- on-farm, post-harvest, trade, quarantine and biosecurity policy and planning, regulation, legislation and science. He studied for his MSc and PhD degrees at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) New Delhi and later returned to IARI as Professor and Head of the Division of Nematology. He worked well over a decade as a Scientist at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), spent his sabbatical at the Delta Centre of the University of Missouri, USA and International Fellowship at the Rothamsted International, UK. He is recipient of several awards in recognition of his contributions to agriculture including Excellence in Science Award of the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research. Professor Sharma is a strong advocate of biosecurity as an integral component of global food security strategy and has been internationally speaking on biosecurity and food security issues for a number of years.

Research Interest

Food sustainably, Bio-security and policy, Food safety and Food security, Post-harvest food loss and food waste management, Managing chemical contaminants, and Innovative technologies for improved market access and trade.