‘Millet Man’ PV Satheesh passes away

Team Udayavani, Mar 20, 2023, 8:53 AM IST

Hyderabad: PV Satheesh, the founder and Executive Director of Deccan Development Society (DDS), passed away in Hyderabad on Sunday at the age of 77 after a prolonged illness.

Satheesh was known as the ‘Millet Man’ for his pioneering work in promoting an alternative, ecologically sustainable agricultural food system. DDS, under his guidance, championed issues of agri-biodiversity, food sovereignty, women’s empowerment, social justice, local knowledge systems, participatory development, and community media.

Satheesh also played a vital role in incorporating millets into the public distribution system. He was a graduate from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi, and started out as a journalist. He went on to work as a pioneering television producer for nearly two decades for Doordarshan, making programs related to rural development and rural literacy in the then-united Andhra Pradesh.

Satheesh was an inspiring leader who created powerful leaders from among illiterate women and was a tireless worker and mentor in the NGO sector.