Ataharul Chowdhury

Head shot of Ataharul Chowdhury
Associate Professor - Capacity Development & Extension; CDE Graduate Coordinator
Email: 
ataharul.chowdhury@uoguelph.ca
Phone number: 
519-824-4120 ext. 52251
Office: 
Landscape Architecture, Room 121
Website links: 
Ataharul Chowdhury Personal Website
Google Scholar
Research Gate
Agri-food, Climate and Rural Miscommunication Platform
Twitter
Blog
Meet Prof. Chowdhury
Program: 
Capacity Development

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Faculty & Staff

Academic History

  • Postgraduate Certificate in University Teaching and Learning, The University of the West Indies (2018)
  • PhD Sustainable Agricultural University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, (BOKU), Vienna, Austria (2011)
  • MSc Management of Agro-ecological Knowledge and Social Change (now Development and Rural Innovation), Wageningen University, The Netherlands (2007)
  • MSc Agricultural Extension Education, Bangladesh Agricultural University (2003)
  • BSc Agricultural Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University (2001)

Ataharul grew up on a family farm in Bangladesh, but he’s also had the opportunity to live, study and work in different countries. He developed a passionate interest in food, agriculture and the environment, and the roles these play in the well-being of communities. Ataharul recently joined the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, but he brings more than a decade of teaching and research experience at universities, non-profits and private foundations in the Caribbean, Canada, Austria, and South Asia. He has collaborated with many leading international partners to help build more sustainable agriculture and rural development in remote and resource-poor communities around the world.

Affiliations and Partnerships

Awards

Research Impact

Ataharul’s research interest is in improving communities in Canada and internationally, particularly in remote and resource-poor settings where there may be insufficient capacity to solve societal, economic, political and environmental challenges. He has collaborated with international partners including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and Wageningen University in initiatives to build sustainable agriculture and rural development in remote and resource-poor communities around the world. Ataharul was a contributor to the ‘Capacity Development Framework for Agricultural Innovation Systems’ being implemented by the FAO, EU and Agrinatura in countries in Africa (Angola, Burkina Faso, and Ethiopia), Asia (Bangladesh, Laos) and Central America (Guatemala, Honduras).

Research Framework and Current Research

How can we enrich our lives? There is probably no single answer to this visionary question. However, new ideas and knowledge help stimulate sustainable changes for improving life. To contribute to this vision statement, ‘business as usual’ is not a palatable option. We should call for action. As a researcher, Ataharul focuses on how he can contribute to improving the livelihoods of communities in Canada and internationally. It is about provoking processes of learning that develop our competencies (turning our knowledge into innovation) for solving societal, economic, political, and environmental challenges in a given context of living. He considers research a means to explore mechanisms for bringing about positive change in society. The specific goal of his research is to advance the understanding and prediction of processes, mechanisms, and conditions that work for improving the livelihoods of land users in complex, remote, and resource-poor contexts. He follows mixed-method strategies that include qualitative analysis, surveys, case studies, action research, Q methodology, analytical hierarchy process, social network analysis and online data mining. His research program draws on the following three interrelated windows of enquiry.

Learn more about Ataharul's current research framework and research projects.

Utilizing participatory media for community learning and development
Links exist between learning and building of livelihood assets in resource-poor farmer groups. Participatory media - an approach where participants play an active role in analyzing, developing and disseminating media content amd can be applied in an array of community mobilization, advocacy and education for sustainable agricultural and food systems development. This research aims to build on past examples of success in participatory, media-led agricultural innovations such as seed, pesticide and soil management improvements in Bangladesh. He is also interested in the ethical and institutional aspects of participatory media, as well as convergence of various media such as video, radio, and Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) to support community learning and development.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT), social and collaborative media for rural and regional development
In the new media and communication landscape, conventional information flows are being reinvented in rural areas, especially among people dependent on agriculture. Many questions arise about the nature of these new information networks – who and how are the new relationships being constituted and what are the outcomes? Ataharul led two graduate projects in collaboration with Wageningen University, and a provincial research project examining the roles of social media in rural asset building in Ontario. Three other projects in which he is involved are examining the role of ICT in building community engaged scholarship in other parts of the world (e.g., The Caribbean). Related research topics include analysis of online communities, engagement of youth and disadvantaged groups, misinformation and current dynamics of mediated communication, and ICT change leadership.

Capacity development for agri-food system and rural development
In this research, Ataharul focuses on the complex, non-linear and dynamic nature of the livelihood systems of people who directly or indirectly depend on natural resources. Some system dynamics lead people deeper into poverty, while others guide people to improved incomes and wellbeing. He is interested to analyze those dynamics that help natural resource users sustain satisfactory lives and livelihoods.

Graduate Student Information

Ataharul believes that students represent the greatest hope for change in areas of the world challenged by multiple, complex issues. As important partners in research, he encourages students to draw conclusions based on their experiential learning, rather than simply on the insights formulated by others. He strives to be an educator, as opposed to an instructor, by facilitating students’ learner-centered education.

Featured Publications:

 

Area of Research

Capacity Development and Extension
Rural Studies