Dr Md Abdul Kader
Discipline Coordinator, Agriculture and Food Technology Discipline & Senior Lecturer, Soil Science
Dr Md Abdul Kader is a soil scientist with a PhD in Applied Biological Science from Ghent University, Belgium and currently leading the Agriculture and Food Technology Discipline, SAGEONS, USP as Discipline Coordinator. He has more than 20 years of teaching, HDR student supervision (50+) and research experiences at different universities of Asia, Europe and Pacific. Dr Kader has been teaching Soil Science courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels and leading a small research unit on soil science. The laboratory is equipped with a CN analyser, ICP-OES, AAS, spectrophotometer and other essential small necessary gazettes for basic soil research. His research unit deals mainly with carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling in soils, nutrient cycling in agro-ecosystem with applications in both agricultural and environmental problems. He is currently focusing on research to the sustainability of agro-environment by reducing the losses of nutrients and utilising bio-based fertilisers (compost, vermicompost, bio-inoculant etc.) in the South Pacific Island countries.
Yes. Any topics on soil management, nutrient cycling and management, C and N cycling, agronomic aspects of crops cultivated in the Pacific, Agricultural greenhouse gas emission as well as agricultural waste management.
Dr Kader has been teaching 3 courses on Soil Science, both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and supervising HDR students since 2017 at USP. Currently, he is conducting research on different aspects of soil management in the South Pacific Island countries, composting and vermicomposting, and nutrient cycling in taro-based cropping systems in addition to his main research interest on soil organic matter and N dynamics in agro-ecosystem. For successful implementation of his research agenda, he has established a wide research network throughout Europe, Australia and Asia as well as most national research organisations and national Universities of the South Pacific Island countries, international and regional organisations e.g. SPC, FAO, UNESCO, SPREF and have research collaboration with many reputed international research groups.
Dr Kader is collaborating with Prof. R W Bell of Murdoch University, Australia where he is an adjunct. They are investigating C and N cycling under minimum tillage in rice based cropping systems. He also has research collaboration with Dr. Ben Macdonald, Dr. Dio Antelle and Dr. Michael Webb, CSIRO, Dr. Dorin Gupta, Melbourne University, Dr. Zakaria Solaiman, University of Western Australia, Associate Professor Dr. F A Dijkstra, Sydney University, Australia, Prof. Peter Lockhart, Messy University, Prof. Reiner Hofmann, Lincoln University, New Zealand. Among his European collaborators are Prof. S. Sleutel and Prof De Neve, Ghent University, Belgium, Prof. Pete Smith of Aberdeen University, UK. Prof. P Leinweber of University of Rostock, Germany, are notable.
