Md. Arif Hossain

About

Md. Arif Hossain is a Visiting Fellow at the Department of Global Development at Cornell University. Arif is the CEO and Executive Director of Farming Future Bangladesh (FFB), a comprehensive communication and community engagement organization aimed to improve awareness about modern agricultural innovations including crop biotechnology to ensure sustainable food security in Bangladesh. Based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, it operates in collaboration with Cornell Alliance for Science of Cornell University with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Arif is a 2015 Alliance for Science Global Leadership Fellow and now leads the Bangladesh Alliance for Science. He is the former communications director of the Feed the Future South Asia Eggplant Improvement Partnership. He previously worked as the senior specialist in the outreach and communication department at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in addition to his successful employment and remarkable contribution to Plan International, Transparency International Bangladesh, and other national and international development organizations.

Outreach & extension focus

As CEO and Executive Director of Farming Future Bangladesh, Arif shares evidence-based information about social, economic and environmental benefits of modern agricultural innovations including using biotechnology to breed improved crops, especially those that can boost the nutritional content of staple foods, such as rice enriched with vitamins and minerals.  FFB is based on the premise that agricultural innovations are important tool to help Bangladesh feed its 160 million people and give farmers and consumers access to safer, healthier and nutritious food. FFB is effectively engaging key stakeholders and a community of advocates who are working in a coordinated way to promote access to scientific innovation as a means of enhancing food security, improving environmental sustainability and raising the quality of life.

Selected publications

• Bt Brinjal in Bangladesh: The First Genetically Engineered Food Crop in a Developing Country

• Bt Eggplant Project in Bangladesh: History, Present Status, and Future Direction

• Bt Eggplant Project in Bangladesh: History, Present Status, and Future Direction

• Bt Eggplant: A Genetically Engineered ‘Minor’ Crop Comes of Age in Bangladesh and the Philippines

In the media

• Post-pandemic hunger and food security: Innovation and resilience in Bangladesh
• Why Bt Brinjal Is a Hit in Bangladesh
• In pursuit of a hunger-free world
• Are GMOs Really That Bad?
• Zero Hunger in Bangladesh: Achievement and Aspiration
• Impact study demonstrates Bt brinjal (eggplant) helps farmers earn more with less pesticide
• Agricultural innovation key to food security
• Youth for Science: Evidence, Urgency and Action
• Farming Future Bangladesh holds training on agri-biotechnology
• Imams can play role in disseminating agricultural innovations
• Podcast: Bt eggplant in Bangladesh—the GMO crop that boosted farmer profits 6-fold
• Bt Brinjal, Beyond Boundaries
• GMO potato can help Bangladeshi farmers cut pesticide use