Abdur Rahim (scientist)

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Md. Abdur Rahim is a Bangladeshi horticultural scientist, professor, and the head of the Department of Agricultural Science at Daffodil International University. He is known for fruit tree improvement, plant genetic resource conservation, agrobiodiversity research, and sustainable horticultural development in Bangladesh. He spent many years at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), where he helped establish the BAU Germplasm Centre and led national fruit research programs. He currently continues his work in horticulture and crop diversity at DIU.

Education and career highlights: Rahim earned a PhD in horticulture from the University of London in 1988, a post‑doctoral fellowship in the United States, an MSc in horticulture from BAU in 1982, and a BSc in agriculture from BAU in 1980. He began as an Agriculture Advisor at the Ministry of Agriculture (1980–1982) before joining BAU, where he taught horticulture, agroforestry, crop diversity, and conservation. He has served as Director of the BAU Germplasm Centre (since 1991) and as Director of HORTEX Foundation Bangladesh (since 2014), and he has directed several fruit tree improvement programs funded by organizations such as UGC, SDC, USDA, DANIDA, and GCDT. Rahim has also worked as a consultant for FAO, USAID-AVC, Ford Foundation, CGIAR centers, and other international agencies, collaborating with universities in the United States and major research institutes.

Publications and recognition: He has authored hundreds of scholarly works on horticulture, agrobiodiversity, and related fields. Rahim has received numerous national and international awards, including the Bangabandhu Krishi Padak, Prime Minister’s Gold Medals for National Fruit Research, National Tree Research, and Fruit Tree Planting, BAS Gold Medal, BAAG Gold Medal, and the Norman E. Borlaug International Science & Technology Award, among others. He is regarded as one of Bangladesh’s leading horticultural scientists, shaping national research and policy in fruit development and biodiversity.