Professor S P Seetharaman worked in the Centre for Management in Agriculture from 20th July 1978 to 30th November 1993.

Prof. Seetharaman was born in Trichy. He was the first son in a family of seven siblings. He obtained his BSc in Mathematics from St. Joseph’s College in Trichy. He also pursued his BEd from the Teacher’s Training College in Trichy. He began work as a Mathematics Teacher at E R High School. He received his MA in Economics from Madras University with the intent to study further.

Prof. Seetharaman worked at the Khadi Commission to financially support his family. There, he interacted with several weavers and understood their plight. He wanted to do something meaningful for the people who toil away for our comfort. He set out to improve the status of Indian farmers and travelled extensively across India. Eventually, he bagged a position with the Agro Economic Research Centre at Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar,Gujarat. There, Prof. Seetharaman worked under Dr V S Vyas who inspired him to pursue a PhD.

Later, Prof. Seetharaman moved down south and worked in the capacity of Principal at the Cooperative Training College for five years. Soon, his mentor and advisor, Dr V S Vyas became Director at IIMA. He invited Prof. Seetharaman to join on board as Faculty in 1978.

At IIMA, he created innovative courses in the SPA program including the Agri Input/Output Course. He was passionate about bringing about a positive change in the lives of farmers through the use of technology.

Prof. Seetharaman was a prolific writer and thinker. He published various case studies and research papers. He received wide acclaim for his work in the area of Agricultural Input Marketing. The Government of Maharashtra awarded him with the Agro Forestry Award in 1987 for vitalizing the Eucalyptus Growers Agroforestry Cooperative in Nasik. He also worked closely with SEWA.

Prof. Seetharaman held a passion for Hindustani classical music and an appreciation for Paan. Prof. Seetharaman was a Gandhian in the true sense and always wore Khadi. When he passed away, he was survived by his children, Dr Koushik Seetharaman, Aruna Seetharaman and Sudha Seetharaman.

Date of Birth: 12th November 1933

Date of Death: 23rd January 2010