Chief Agricultural Writer
The New York Times
Elizabeth Becker is the Chief Agricultural writer for the New York Times. She writes about foreign and domestic issues, especially those relating to agriculture, international relief and development, and homeland security. Last year she revived the agriculture beat at the New York Times after it had been abandoned for more than a decade, providing coverage of farm policy and its international impact, around the country. Before joining the Times, Ms. Becker was the Senior Foreign Editor at National Public Radio. Her work was honored with two DuPont-Columbia Awards as the executive producer for coverage of Rwanda and South Africa. She began her career in Asia, as a war correspondent for the Washington Post in Cambodia. She has continued covering that country over the past 25 years and is the author of “When the War is Over,” a history of modern Cambodian and the Khmer Rouge.
Mrs. Becker holds a degree in South Asian studies from the University of Washington and did language studies at the Kendriya Hindi Sansthaan in Agra, India. She is on the board of directors of the Arthur F. Burns Foundation and the Pearl S. Buck Foundation.