Search
World Food Prize Foundation president joins tribute to Norman Borlaug in Ciudad Obregón, Mexico
 |
| The sculpture "Borlaug" by Hector Martinez Arteche was unveiled March 25 |
 |
| World Food Prize Foundation President Kenneth Quinn with Dr. Borlaug's daughter Jeanie Laube Borlaug |
 |
| Ambassador Quinn with 2000 World Food Prize Laureate Evangelina Villegas |
 |
| The Yaqui Valley Experiment Station in Ciudad Obregón as “The Norman E. Borlaug Experiment Station." |
UPDATED April 2, 2010 - - Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation, traveled to Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, Mexico, for a tribute to late World Food Prize Founder Dr. Norman E. Borlaug on what would have been Dr. Borlaug’s 96th birthday on March 25.
Held at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), where Dr. Borlaug headed the Global Wheat Program, the ceremony featured the inauguration of a bronze sculpture of Dr. Borlaug, created by Hector Martinez Arteche.
An urn containing Dr. Borlaug's ashes is incorporated into the monument.
"Seeing Norm's ashes placed on Mexican soil was very meaningful given how much Mexico meant to him, and how much he meant to Mexico and the Mexican farmers," said Ambassador Quinn.
As part of the ceremony, the Mexican National Institute of Forestry, Agriculture, and Livestock Research (INIFAP) renamed the Yaqui Valley Experiment Station in Ciudad Obregón as “The Norman E. Borlaug Experiment Station.”
Mexican Minister of Agriculture Francisco Javier Mayorga Castañeda delivered remarks on Dr. Borlaug’s importance to farmers in Mexico and throughout the developing world.
Also attending the ceremony were members of Dr. Borlaug's family, 2000 World Food Prize Laureate Evangelina Villegas, and World Food Prize Council of Advisors member Ronnie Coffman.
The high-yielding wheat varieties and improved farming practices developed by Borlaug and his team at CIMMYT transformed agriculture in Mexico and later were introduced to India and Pakistan, saving upwards of a billion people from starvation. This earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970, the first and only time the illustrious award has been given for achievements in agriculture. That same year, Mexico honored Borlaug with the highest award for humanitarian work possible for a foreigner, the Order of the Aztec Eagle.
Dr. Borlaug died on September 12, 2009, roughly one month before the presentation of the 2009 World Food Prize, which Dr. Borlaug founded in 1986 to recognize and inspire “Nobel-like” achievements in ensuring adequate food and nutrition for all.
MORE ON DR. BORLAUG:
Iowa Senate votes 50-0 to place Borlaug statue in US Capitol (February 25, 2010)
World Food Prize dedicates $29.8 million Hall of Laureates in honor of Norman Borlaug (October 14, 2009)
Norman Borlaug discusses famine's persistence with WSJ in one of his final interviews (September 22, 2009)
Tributes to Norman Borlaug from around the world (September 13, 2009)
World Food Prize Founder and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Norman Borlaug dies at age 95 (September 12, 2009)
Iowa Senators introduce legislation to declare Borlaug home a National Historic Site (August 4, 2009)
Borlaug in Wall Street Journal: Farmers Can Feed the World (July 30, 2009)
Borlaug/Lugar: A new green revolution (April 5, 2009)
Borlaug: Start initiative to feed hungry worldwide (March 16, 2009)
Dr. Borlaug to celebrate 95th birthday (March 4, 2009)
Borlaug Honored with butter sculpture at Iowa State Fair (August 6, 2008)
President Bush, others present Dr. Borlaug with Congressional Gold Medal (July 18, 2007)
Dr. Borlaug to receive Congressional Gold Medal (December 6, 2006)
U.S. Senate votes to honor Borlaug with Congressional Gold Medal (September 28, 2006)
Penn, minus Teller, interviews Borlaug (August 15, 2006)
Norman Borlaug returns home to statehouse honors (March 16, 2006)
Dr. Norman Borlaug recieves National Medal of Science (February 14, 2006)
Dr. Norman E. Borlaug honored with Padma Vibhushan in India (January 25, 2006)
'Food for Thought' (published in the Wall Street Journal on October 14, 2005)
"My 60 Years of Fighting Hunger" a retrospective on the life of Dr. Norman Borlaug released from the First Annual Governor's Lecture (PDF file, October 25, 2004)
Dr. Norman Borlaug throws ceremonial first pitch at Boston's Fenway Park (June 9, 2004)