Dhaka, Bangladesh—25 March 2018—The government presented the “Swadhinata Padak 2018” award to former IRRI Agronomist Dr. Md. M Abdul Mazid for his work on rice research and development that helped improve food security in Bangladesh.
The “Swadhinata Padak 2018”, more popularly known as the Independence Award, is the highest civilian honor the Prime Minister of Bangladesh awards individuals who have made remarkable contributions in their respective fields. Having devoted over 40 years in developing the rice-based agri-food systems of Bangladesh, Dr. Mazid has been given this honor for mitigating “Monga” and accelerating agriculture research for development of flash flood submergence tolerance rice, pioneering seed production, and training farmers in Bangladesh.
