Kamala Pujari is a very inspiring agriculturalist from the Paraja tribe of Odisha. She is recognized for her effort to preserve indigenous paddy varieties. Although born in a poor tribal family in Patraput village in Koraput district, her determination has made her a leader at the national level for her agricultural achievements. The Padma Shri award in 2019 became a bright name in traditional agriculture via tireless efforts in seed preservation and sustainable farming.

Kamala Pujari is better known by the term "Paddy Seed Preserver" since she has a passion for preserving more than 100 rare traditional indigenous varieties of paddy. Kamala grows these pretty much as organically as possible so that traditional paddy strains can grow and do well without synthetic fertilizers. She preserves agricultural biodiversity while also providing a model for sustainable farming that sustains Odisha's agricultural heritage.

Kamala Pujari has been very active in bringing organic farming to her community at large. She promotes bio-fertilizers, which reduce dependence on chemical inputs and help keep the soil fertile, marking her practices as sustainable, environmentally friendly, and crop health guaranteed long term. She has already been able to bring about a change in farming practices in her area while teaching and encouraging the use of organic methods to others.

Kamala Pujari accepted this prestigious award from the Equator Initiative during the world summit held at Johannesburg in South Africa in 2002. This award is a testimony to her phenomenal success in both seed preservation and organic farming. She made use of traditional knowledge to address local agricultural problems that caught global attention and showcased an exemplary solution through indigenous agricultural wisdom. Kamala Pujari became the first tribal woman to be inducted into the Odisha State Planning Board in 2018. It was a very effective entry that enabled her to contribute the perspective of tribal farming and sustainable practices into the relevant agenda of planning and development. It proved how important it is to bring indigenous voices into the policy-making process, especially in areas of agricultural conservation and sustainable rural development.