Agricultural Scientist Dr. Mohammad Hossain Mondal Was a Dedicated Scientist

Dr. Mohammad Hossain Mondal was born in 1936 in Buzruk Tengra village, Palashbari upazila of Gaibandha district. In 1952, he passed the Matriculation examination from the local Basudebpur Chandra Kishore High School. He completed his HSC in 1954 at Rajshahi Government College. Afterwards, he obtained his BAg in 1960 and MAg in 1962 from Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural College under the University of Dhaka. From 1962 to 1965, he worked first as a Research Assistant and later as an Assistant Botanist at the then Agriculture Research Institute, Tejgaon, Dhaka.

In 1965, Dr. Mondal went to the United States for higher studies with a Fulbright Scholarship. He received his MS in 1967 and PhD in 1972 from the University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois State. From 1972-77 he carried out post-doctoral research as a fellow at Iowa State University, Ames, and the University of Minnesota, St. Paul, USA. During his stay at these universities he conducted research on maize, soybean, and pulses. At that time, a serious disease known as “leaf blight” emerged in maize in the United States. Dr. Mondal’s research was extremely helpful in developing control measures for this disease. Through his research, he further demonstrated that removing some developing flowers and pods from soybean plants significantly reduces their food production capacity. His research articles were published in various research journals in the United States and Germany.

Notably, in recognition of his work, Dr. Mondal and his family received an immigration visa (green card) to reside permanently in the United States from 1973. Nevertheless, for the sake of working in his homeland, he returned to Bangladesh with his family at the end of 1977. Upon his return, in that same year, he joined the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) as Associate Director/Director (Research). From 1986 to 1992, he served as Director General of BARI. During his tenure at BARI, he launched multiple discipline-based research programs aimed at innovating package technology. Following this method, advanced technology for various crops continues to be developed at BARI. Under the leadership and guidance of Dr. Mondal, numerous high-yielding varieties of wheat, maize, oilseeds, pulses, potatoes, and vegetables were developed. Farmers in various regions of the country are now using these technologies in the field, such as the wheat variety Kancha, mustard BARI-6, pulse BARI Mung-1, potatoes Diamont/Cardinal, and tomato varieties Manik and Ratan, among others.

In 1988, under Dr. Mondal’s leadership, Haji Mohammad Danesh Agricultural College in Dinajpur, under BARI, was established. This institution has now been upgraded to Haji Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University. Additionally, under Dr. Mondal’s supervision, two scientists from BARI earned PhDs in Agronomy from Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh. This research demonstrated how to increase cropping intensity while maintaining soil fertility.

From 1994 onwards, Dr. Mohammad Hossain Mondal served as Team Leader and specialist in crops and agriculture in various projects funded by RDRS/CARE/DFID/USAID. Between 2002 and 2006, he worked as an extension and research expert and team leader in the integrated area development project of Gopalganj, Madaripur, Shariatpur, and Pirojpur under the Government of Bangladesh. The main aim of these projects was to help relieve poverty among marginal, landless, and small farmers by increasing agricultural production.

Dr. Mondal published over 40 research papers in various national and international journals. Under his supervision, five students earned MS and two students earned PhD degrees in Agronomy from Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh. He currently serves as a lifetime member and a member of several professional societies. Furthermore, from 1986 to 1992, Dr. Mondal was a member of the syndicate of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh.

Update: In 2015, he was awarded the Swadhinata Padak (Independence Award) for his outstanding contributions to research and training.^[1]

• On June 19, 2017, this dedicated scientist of whom we are so proud passed away.