Perspectives June 2016 | Page 11

ORIAM d. fizul am 2016) MOHAMMED MOFIZUL ISLAM began working for IFDC in 1987 as the dealer development and training advisor for the Fertilizer Distribution Improvement (FDI) II project in Bangladesh. Always devoted to the farmer, Islam managed hundreds of training programs through FDI-II and pioneered the introduction of hybrid maize cultivation practices in Bangladesh. He played an instrumental role in the formation and development of the Bangladesh Fertilizer Association (BFA) in the early 1990s as its first executive secretary. An expert in agro-dealer development, he aided IFDC projects in many countries, including Afghanistan, Burundi, Cambodia, Nepal, Rwanda, and Vietnam. Islam was a preeminent promoter of fertilizer deep placement (FDP). As the field and fertilizer program coordinator for the Agro-Based Industries and Technology Development Project (ATDP), Islam was one of the first to take the climate-smart technology to farmers in the late 1990s. Later, with the Adapting Nutrient Management Technologies (ANMAT) project, Islam worked to conduct demonstrations and on-farm trials of FDP. Using television and media, he worked tirelessly to spread the benefits of the technology. Under the AAPI project, his early work in scaling out FDP paved the way for its success in Bangladesh and its spread to Africa. Mofiz will be dearly remembered for being a people person, working closely with farmers in the field through practical, hands-on demonstrations. IFDC staff – and farmers around the world – are indebted to his legacy, a firm dedication to the mission of food security. 10