Sheetal Sharma is the Head of Innovation & Carbon at Rize, a climate-focused agri-tech company working to decarbonise rice farming while improving livelihoods for over 100 million smallholder farmers across South and Southeast Asia. With over 20 years of experience in agricultural science, climate-smart farming, and digital innovation, she is one of India's most accomplished researchers at the intersection of food systems and climate action. Before joining Rize, Sheetal spent over a decade at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), where she rose through several positions across soil science, agronomy, and digital tools. As Scientist and Research Leader for Digital Tools & Big Data, she led the development of ICT-based knowledge and decision-support platforms to improve rice-based farming systems across Asia covering greenhouse gas estimation, soil health management, and climate adaptation tools for smallholder farmers. She holds a PhD in Soil Science from Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University, with doctoral research focused on rainwater harvesting and smallholder productivity, for which she was awarded the State Gold Medal for Doctoral Research in 2008. She is also the first Indian woman to win the 11th Japan International Award for Young Agricultural Researchers, a distinction that reflects the global standing of her scientific work. At Rize, Sheetal leads innovation in carbon measurement, reporting, and verification frameworks in rice systems, one of the most technically demanding areas of agricultural carbon markets. She has worked in research partnerships with Nestlé, Yara International, Bayer CropScience, and ICAR, and has published widely across refereed journals, books, and international conferences and workshops. She speaks with authority on climate-smart agriculture, the role of digital tools in transforming smallholder farming, and the science and policy of agricultural carbon markets.

Climate Asia Annual Conference 2024 (speaker); First Indian woman to win the 11th Japan International Award for Young Agricultural Researchers; State Gold Medal for Doctoral Research (2008)

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