Faculty Profile for Dr. Pratheesh Omana Sudhakaran

profile photo for Dr. Pratheesh Omana Sudhakaran
Dr. Pratheesh Omana Sudhakaran
Assistant Professor — Department of Agricultural Sciences
AG 206
phone: (512) 245-2130
Scholarly/Creative Work
Awards
Grants
Service

Biography Section

Biography and Education

 Ph. D., Environment and Natural Resource Economics, University of Rhode Island
M.S., Aquaculture and Fisheries, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
B.S., Fisheries Science, Kerala Agricultural University

Pratheesh Sudhakaran is an applied economist with more than 12 years of experience in academic and industry in the fields of fisheries, aquaculture, natural resources and agriculture. Upon completing his Ph.D., Pratheesh started his teaching career in different educational institutions such as Tarrant County Community College. After working for a year, he joined Texas State University. He began his career in the economics of aquaculture production. During his Ph.D. he worked on different research projects on consumer behavior on food and natural resource management issues. His Ph.D. dissertation was selected as the Best Dissertation by the International Association of Aquaculture Economist (IAAEM) in 2016. One of the studies he conducted for his dissertation was used as a baseline economic study in framing shellfish management plan for the state of Rhode Island.

Some of the Dr. Sudhakaran’s current research interests include aquaculture and fisheries economics, food safety economics, agricultural economics, natural resource economics and experimental economics. He is involved in national and international research. He is currently involved in two research project determining the economics of safe food in Texas and Bangladesh. He is also involved in two research projects looking at the economics of regenerative agriculture.

Teaching Interests

 Production Economics
Farm Management
Agribusiness Management
Agriculture Finance
Quantitative Methods in Agriculture
Microeconomics
Macroeconomics

Research Interests

 Aquaculture and Fisheries Economics,
Food safety Economics,
Production Economics
Natural Resource Economics and
Experimental economics.

Selected Scholarly/Creative Work

  • Dey, M. M., Rahman, M. S., Dewan, Md. F., Omana Sudhakaran, P. O., Deb, U., & Khan, Md. A. (2024). Willingness to Pay for Safer Fish: Evidence from an experimental auction in Bangladesh. Aquaculture Economics and Management, 28(3), 460 to 490. https://doi.org/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13657305.2024.2353212
  • Mesquita, C. S., Richardson, C. R., Kerth, C. R., Sudhakaran, P. O., & Villanueva, A. K. (2022). Electrical Conductivity, Color, and Tenderness Values of Fresh and/or Cooked Beef. J. Animal Science, 100(Suppl. 3), 103–103.
  • Garlock, T., Asche, F., Dey, M. M., Anderson, J., Eggert, H., Anderson, T., … Tibesigwa, B. (2024). Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability in Aquaculture. Nature Communications. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49556-8
  • Mojjada, S., Damodaran, D. N., Omana Sudhakaran, P., Perumal Sundaram, S. L., Menon, M., Mojjada, R. K., & Tade, M. S. (2024). An integrated techno-economic decision-support forecast model for sea cage mariculture enterprises for Asian seabass production in Indian territorial waters. Aquaculture, 550(2). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2023.740351
  • Mojjada, S. K., Damodharan Nair, D., Omana Sudhakaran, P. O., Sundaram, S. L. P., Menon, M., Mojjada, R. K., … Achamveetil, G. (2024). Coastal Resource Management and Economic Performance of Mud Spiny Lobster Mariculture in Tropical Sea Cages, North-eastern Arabian Sea, India: An Empirical Study. Marine Policy, 161. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106041

Selected Awards

  • Award / Honor Recipient: Best Dissertation Award, International Association of Aquaculture Economists. 2016
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Honorary Mention, MS Thesis Award, International Association of Aquaculture Economists. 2011

Selected Grants

  • Morrish, Douglas, Pierdolla, Eryn Linnae, Wagner, Nicole, Omana Sudhakaran, Pratheesh. Research Through Agriculture Internships, Scholarships, and Experiential Learning (RAISE), USDA NIFA, Federal, $5000000. (Submitted: December 2022, Funded: June 2023 - June 1, 2028). Grant.
  • Mix, Kenneth D (Principal), Omana Sudhakaran, Pratheesh O (Co-Principal). Small Producer Initiative's Agricultural Mentoring Program, USDA, Federal, $400000. (Funded: October 2020 - October 2023). Grant.
  • Dey, Madan Mohan (Principal), Omana Sudhakaran, Pratheesh O (Co-Principal), Surathkal, Prasanna (Co-Principal), Rahman, Mohammad Saidur (Co-Principal), Khan, Md.Akhtaruzzman (Co-Principal), Nazir, KHM Nazmul Hussain (Co-Principal), Lutfa, Samina (Co-Principal), Alim, Md. Abdul (Co-Principal). Enhancing Food Safety in Fish and Chicken Value Chains of Bangladesh, USAID, Federal, $699971. (Submitted: July 17, 2020, Funded: October 1, 2020 - Present). Grant.
  • Omana Sudhakaran, Pratheesh O (Principal), Wagner, Nicole Catherine (Co-Principal). Economic Analysis of Organic Hydroponic System, Research Enhancement Program, Texas State University, $16000. (Funded: January 1, 2020 - Present). Grant.
  • Qasem, Apan Muhammad (Principal), Royal, Cindy L (Co-Principal), Hewitt, Barbara A (Co-Principal), Dolezel, Diane M (Supporting), Omana Sudhakaran, Pratheesh O (Supporting), Lollar, Jonathan Ernest (Supporting), Booth, Chad (Co-Principal), Roundtree, Aimee Kendall (Supporting), Ekin, Tahir (Supporting), Cordero, Rafael A (Supporting), Lopez, Omar S (Supporting), Ashford-Hanserd, Shetay Nicole (Co-Principal), Sriraman, Vedaraman (Co-Principal), Forsythe, Michelle Elizabeth (Co-Principal), Mendez, Francis A (Supporting). NSF Grant 22-611, STEM-CLEAR: Creating Contextualized Learning Pathways across Academic and Cultural Boundaries, National Science Foundation, Federal, $2646529. (Submitted: August 8, 2023, Funded: June 1, 2024 - June 2029). Grant.

Selected Service Activities

Member
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's Field of Study Advisory Committee for Agribusiness and Management
January 1, 2019-Present
Member
Departmental Self Evaluation Committee
January 2022-Present
Graduate Advisor
MS in Integrated Agricultural Sciences, Department of Agricultural Sciences
September 2021-Present
Chair
Graduate Thesis Committee
September 2021-Present
Editor
Special Issue Aquaculture Economics and Managemen
September 2021-Present