Amrita Mukherjee

Amrita Mukherjee, Small Farms/Urban Agriculture Advisor for San Bernardino, covering  Riverside,  Los Angeles (excluding desert areas), and Orange County.

As a UCCE Small Farms/Urban Agriculture Advisor, she directs a vital program that focuses on applied research and education for small-scale growers in both field and controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) of vegetable and specialty crops, with a strong emphasis on organic production. Her responsibilities include developing low-input, sustainable cropping systems for vegetable and specialty crops that optimize production while conserving water, preserving water quality, and implementing integrated Pest Management (IPM) in organic as well as traditional systems. Her dedication to diversity, equity, and community involvement extends to a diverse clientele group, which includes urban and small-scale farmers, government and non-government agricultural educators, and underserved smallholder farmers.

Ms. Mukherjee is currently either leading or collaborating with more than six projects including No-till cover crop use, a Biodegradable much system for organic strawberries, IPM practices for aphid controls in indoor farming, Diversified land use, and Improving water and nutrient efficiency in controlled Environment Agriculture in Southern California, with a focus on small-scale and urban growers. 

Previously, Mukherjee worked for the International Rice Research Institute where she examined flash flood risk management in her homeland. She also worked for the Horticulture Innovation Lab management team at UC Davis as an assistant specialist in Bangladesh, focused on the nutrition impacts of horticultural innovations. Mukherjee earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from Khulna University, a master’s degree in biotechnology from Bangladesh Agricultural University, and a master’s degree in horticulture, plant biology, and post-harvest physiology from Kansas State University.