Dr. Usha Barwale Zehr is Director and Chief Technology Officer at Mahyco Private Limited (MAHYCO), India. She received her Ph.D. from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Subsequent to her formal education, she worked at Purdue University in the Sorghum improvement program. For the last 19 years, she has been utilizing new technologies and tools including biotechnology for improving the quality and productivity of seeds and agriculture for small holder farmers in Asia and Africa. In addition, Dr. Zehr serves as Director of the Barwale Foundation (a non-profit Research Foundation), and as a board member of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa. Recently, she has also taken on additional responsibilities for bringing digital tools in the agricultural value chain.