Harun-Ar-Rashid is the founder Executive Director of the Agricultural Advisory Society (AAS), a leading national agricultural NGO. Harun-Ar-Rashid is an agronomist who received his M.Sc.Ag in Soil Science from the Bangladesh Agricultural University, his MS in Crop Physiology from the Reading University, UK and Ph.D in Agriculture from the American Independent University, California, USA. He has been working in agricultural production, research, development and extension (RD&E) in Bangladesh for the last 40 years for GOs, NGOs, CBOs, national and international organizations and private sector organizations. He published more than 25 scientific papers in reputed Journals.
He prepared a large number of reports on the implemented projects since inception of AAS. He also wrote several books, booklets, and manuals on agricultural production practices for farmers and extension agents. He has prepared more than two hundred fact sheets on plant health problems diagnosis and recommended management practices for more than 30 crops.
He conducted and prepared reports on series of impact study, baseline & end line study, project designing, evaluation, inception, formulation etc. He is highly skilled in sustainable practical agricultural production practices including crops and fishery. He has vast knowledge about participatory training, workshop, seminar, need assessment, project proposal preparation and implementation approach and strategy. He is a believer of participatory research, development and extension in agriculture and open mind to learn from farmers. Since 2005 he has disseminated and used farmers-to-farmer training videos across Bangladesh.
He believes that most active and progressive farmers are researchers and they do research during their agricultural production practices without any recognition from the authorized organizations. He also believes that farmers’ innovations are equally important as the technology developed from formal system with few exceptions. He believes among the existing extension methods for agriculture technology transfer, farmer to farmer extension method is found as a potential extension method for the same in the country. Resume of Harun-Ar-Rashid is available (Link).