Dr L.B. Hugar who passed away on Thurs the 22^nd August,2013 was an outstanding academician and researcher. The world of agriculture has lost a luminary and an eminent as well as a tireless worker. The void created by his untimely departure will be hard to fill. His last held position was as a Professor of Agricultural Economics and Dean of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur.

Born on 30^th October, 1955, Dr Hugar obtained his higher education from UAS, Bangalore, with a specialization in Agricultural Economics. Other known areas of his expertise were Agribusiness Management and Farm Production Economics. He completed his Doctorate degree in 1997.

He joined U.A.S. Bangalore as a Research Assistant in 1980 and soon rose up the ranks to become an Asst Professor in 1984 at the U.A.S. Dharwad, when that university came into being. Almost the whole of his working life was spent in North Karnataka. He guided more than 5 doctoral students as a full time thesis supervisor. He was awarded the Best UG Teacher award by U.A.S. Dharwad in 1987.

He published more than 38 full length research papers and numerous short notes, conference papers as well as book chapters and popular articles. He brought the wealth of his experience and expertise into the execution of several high profile sponsored projects. One of his noteworthy contributions was to the NAIP(Agropedia) project sponsored by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, where as a co-Principle Investigator he pioneered the concept of vernacular content in the Kannada language as well as regular forecasting and analysis of market intelligence. He visited foreign countries as a delegate to many blue chip conferences and seminars held in USA, UK, Canada and Russia.

We at Team Agropedia(IIT, Kanpur) deeply mourn his loss and pray that his soul rest in eternal peace. May his family, friends, colleagues, and well wishers derive the necessary strength to bear this loss with courage and fortitude.