Nobel Peace Prize Winner, World Food Prize Founder Norman Borlaug Dies

Dr. Norman Ernest Borlaug, the only agricultural scientist ever to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, was considered the “Father of the Green Revolution.” As a research scientist in charge of wheat improvement, Borlaug collaborated with Mexican scientists, as well as scientists around the world — particularly India and Pakistan — in developing new wheat varieties with broad and stable disease resistance and high yield potential, adapting them to different countries, growing conditions and climates, and gaining acceptance for their production.

The Iowa, US-born Borlaug received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota in 1937, followed by a master’s degree in 1939 and doctorate in 1942. From 1942 to 1944, he was a microbiologist on the staff of the E.I. Dupont de Nemours Foundation where he was in charge of research on industrial and agricultural bactericides, fungicides, and preservatives.

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In 1944 he accepted an appointment in Mexico as geneticist and plant pathologist assigned the task of organizing and directing the Cooperative Wheat Research and Production Program, a joint undertaking by the Mexican government and the Rockefeller Foundation. The new wheat varieties and improved crop management practices transformed agricultural production in Mexico during the 1940’s and 1950’s and later in Asia and Latin America, which began what today is known as the “Green Revolution.” Because of his achievements to prevent hunger, famine and misery around the world, it is said that Borlaug has “saved more lives than any other person who has ever lived,” according to The World Food Prize Foundation.

In 1986, Borlaug founded the World Food Prize to recognize and inspire Nobel-like achievements in food and agriculture. The same year, Borlaug headed the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA), whose activities center on bringing science-based crop production methods to the small farms of sub-Saharan Africa. SAA projects are under way in a dozen African countries, with partnerships with ministries of agriculture and collaborations with NGOs, businesses, and international development agencies. Perhaps the most significant achievement of this effort is the successful development of highly nutritious corn – known as Quality Protein Maize – offering great promise in preventing acute malnutrition among children in Ghana, Mozambique, and other African countries, as well as in Mexico.

In recent years, Borlaug became a defender and promoter of genetically modified food technology, warning that “failure to adopt these technologies could again have many around the globe go hungry.”

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Dr. Norman Borlaug passed away Sept. 12, 2009, at the age of 95. For a detailed biography, including Borlaug’s work throughout China and South Asia, please visit http://www.worldfoodprize.org/borlaug/borlaug-history.htm

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