Hom Nath Gartaula is a Senior Scientist at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), specializing in social science research within the Sustainable Impact through Rice-based Systems Department. With over 25 years of experience, he focuses on advancing food and nutrition security, climate resilience, and locally led adaptation for smallholders, especially living in rice-based systems. His work promotes inclusive innovation, impactful scaling, equitable access to technologies, and the empowerment of women, men, youth, and other marginalized farming communities.

Dr. Gartaula has co-authored more than 150 peer-reviewed articles and working papers on food and nutrition security, agricultural mechanization, climate change adaptation, inclusive seed systems, and gender-transformative research. His interdisciplinary approach is rooted in an actor-oriented and human wellbeing perspective, combining social science insights with practical solutions to strengthen smallholder livelihoods and resilience systems.

He holds a PhD in Social Sciences with a focus on Sociology and Anthropology of Development, an MSc in Knowledge Management and Social Change from Wageningen University (Netherlands), and a BSc in Agriculture from Tribhuvan University (Nepal). Before joining IRRI, he worked with CIMMYT in Mexico, taught at the University of Winnipeg, and managed international development programs in Canada. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Guelph, Canada.