Born in Rajviraj, Saptari, Madan Prasad Periyar is a senior climate and agriculture expert. Pariyar, a resident of Chandragiri municipality in Kathmandu, has worked in dozens of national and international organizations.

Pariyar, who has been working in the field of Dalit community rights and social justice for a long time, is currently the Chairman of Samata Foundation. Established in 2009, the foundation has been working in the fields of studies, research, policy making, human rights and leadership development for the rights and inclusion of Dalits and other minority communities.

Pariyar was also the coordinator of the State Restructuring Suggestion High Level Commission in 068. The then Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai-led government appointed Pariyar as the coordinator of the eight-member recommendation commission.

The commission including experts from different fields and communities gave a report with suggestions for state restructuring.  Similarly, Pariyar also worked as the General Manager of Udaipur Cement and Agricultural Tools Factory Birganj. 

He graduated in agricultural engineering from the Allahabad Institute of Agriculture in India and completed his post-graduation and post-graduation in engineering from the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand. He has done in-depth research on climate adaptation, poverty alleviation, economic growth, inclusion, good governance, information technology, rural and agricultural development, industrial development and resource management.

Pariyar has long contributed to government and non-government organizations, private industry and even the education sector. He worked for a long time in the field of rural development, agriculture and poverty alleviation with IDE. Having worked in IDE Nepal, an international non-governmental organization active in this field, he later became a senior consultant of the organization.