HarvestPlus Mourns the Passing of Advisory Board Member Mahabub Hossain
The HarvestPlus family mourns the loss of our friend and colleague, Dr. Mahabub Hossain, who served on our advisory board. Dr. Hossain passed away on January 3, 2016 at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio where he was undergoing treatment. He was 71.
A globally respected agricultural economist, Dr. Hossain was a strong advocate of biofortification and other agricultural innovations to improve the lives of farmers in the developing world. He brought remarkable experience, insights, and enthusiasm to his role on our program advisory committee (PAC).
“Mahabub dedicated his life to helping the poor,” said HarvestPlus Director Howarth Bouis. “I first met Mahabub in my early years at IFPRI where he was one of the most prolific researchers on the staff. Much later, as head of the socio-economics department at IRRI, Mahabub collaborated on our first farmer adoption studies in anticipation of release of high-zinc rice varieties in Bangladesh. Years later, we were very honored to have Mahabub join the PAC while he was still serving as Executive Director of BRAC. Even after recuperating from heart surgery, he continued to be one of the most active PAC members, among other things advocating for deployment of biofortified rice varieties with Bangladeshi policy makers and for biofortification within the Global Panel. He was always ready to help where he could make a contribution. We will miss Mahabub greatly on a personal basis, and his quiet and persistent leadership.”
We join BRAC, where Dr. Hossain spent much of his latter professional career, in mourning his demise and celebrating a life dedicated to advancing agriculture and development in Bangladesh and globally.