ICARDA loses an esteemed architect of its founding days - Dr. Bhup Bhardwaj

Dr. Bhup Bhardwaj, who served as the Director of Administration at the Cairo Office from 1979 to 1991, succumbed to a massive heart attack at his residence in Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India on 15th December 2015. Dr. Bhardwaj was the first head of the Nile Valley Project and led this initiative to great success through joint tripartite relations of research and training among its three partners, namely Egypt, Sudan and ICARDA. Through his outstanding administrative acumen and excellent interpersonal relationship he forged strong ties with national programs and donors and laid strong foundations for the Nile Valley Project which soon became ICARDA’s flagship program.

Dr Seme Debella, Head of the Agriculture Research and Extension Organization (AREO) of Ethiopia, has acknowledged Nile Valley Project as one of the best programs run in his country in collaboration with any International Agricultural Research Center. With the joining of Yemen, this program further grew to become The Nile Valley and Red Sea Regional Program.

Dr. Mahmoud Solh, ICARDA’s Director General, expressed his deepest condolence to Mrs. Raj Bhardwaj and other members of the bereaved family. He fondly remembered Dr. Bhardwaj’s warm hospitality and commended his professionalism and high level of commitment to ICARDA in the achievements made by the Nile Valley Program in the 1980’s and early 1990’s.

Dr. Mohan Saxena, former Assistant Director General at ICARDA, said, ‘Dr. Bhup Bhardwaj was a strong disciplinarian and commanded great respect from the national researchers, administrative collaborators, ICARDA colleagues and donor representatives.’ Dr. Murari Singh, ICARDA’s Senior Biometrician, reminisced Dr. Bhardwaj’s effective implementing skills and praised him for his impeccable management abilities and donor reporting.