#BorlaugBlog
For 30 years, the World Food Prize has worked to build on the legacy of Dr. Norman Borlaug, the man who saved a billion lives, by recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world. Our Laureates, our close partners, and our staff work tirelessly to alleviate hunger through innovative approaches, and we hope to share their expertise, research, and personal stories on The Borlaug Blog.
In the Borlaug Blog, we will occasionally post a blog featuring stories, research, and expert opinion from our Laureates, partners, youth representatives and staff. It is our hope that this blog series will create a conversation between farmers, NGOs, CEOs and people across the globe.
Mind and Bridge the Gap….
By Purvi Mehta posted on
03/24/2021
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Women’s continued role in agriculture is well-marked, well-realised and often underestimated. Close to 48 percent of overall agricultural work in developing countries is done by women. In some sectors, like livestock, this can reach up to 80-90 percent. For example, in India--the world’s largest livestock producer--over 70 percent of livestock...
Building Back Safer: Aligning Food Security and Food Safety
By Bonnie McClafferty and Caroline Smith DeWaal posted on
03/23/2021
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In late February, twenty-four World Food Prize Laureates penned a letter asking the Biden Administration for help. These internationally recognized and exceptional Laureates are known to have—with stacks of proof—advanced the quantity, quality, availability of, or access to food through creative interventions within the food system. They also have collectively...
Día Internacional De La Mujer 2021
By Elsa Murano posted on
03/22/2021
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In May of 2016, I visited a project that the Borlaug Institute was implementing in Guatemala, focused on training coffee farmers in good agricultural practices to help increase their yield while overcoming leaf rust disease and other challenges. The farmer cooperative we worked with was led by a group of...
Strengthen The Hands That Work The Land
By Usha Barwale Zehr posted on
03/18/2021
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My mother personified the role women play in addressing hunger and food security. During the 1960s, a time of severe food shortage in India, she prepared roti and dal for a few visitors each day who would come to our home for lunch; it was the only meal they would...
Challenging Gender Inequality – In Agricultural Development And Beyond
By Joanna Veltri posted on
03/18/2021
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Many of us in the international development policy space spend a tremendous amount of time thinking about gender and how best to support and empower women and girls in the education, employment, financial, social and other spheres. At IFAD, we concertedly support women – farmers, fishers, and entrepreneurs along the...
Invest in Women, the “Phoenixes” in our Food Systems!
By Hilary Barry posted on
03/17/2021
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LadyAgri is a non-profit association supporting women in agri-value chains and women-led agri-businesses across Africa and Small Island Developing States. Of these businesses, 75 percent are women-led and 25 percent have strong gender-smart inclusive business models (including women employees, farmers, processors, distributors, customers). LadyAgri also works with policy makers, the...
Women Custodians Safeguard the Future of Our Food
By Margaret M. Zeigler posted on
03/16/2021
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The Andean region is the center of origin of many nutritious, diverse foods, including native Andean potatoes and grains such as quinoa, now popular in the growing global gastronomic scene. Chefs feature such native foods in creative, colorful dishes in upscale restaurants in the Andes and worldwide. Yet, many consumers...
The Power Of Women’s Empowerment For Food Security
By Salma Sultana posted on
03/15/2021
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Women, especially in developing countries, are key to eradicating hunger, malnutrition, and poverty. The role of women is pivotal in agricultural production and in food security. They are the primary farmers and producers in a large part of the world. They produce sixty percent to eighty percent of the food...
Women In Leadership: Achieving An Equal Future In A Covid-19 World
By Margaret Catley-Carlson posted on
03/12/2021
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When I became President of the Canadian International Development Agency in 1983, the world was much taken by Chairman Mao's "Women hold up half the sky." It seemed to portend change toward recognition, expanded potential and greater welcome for diversification of female capacities.
The prophetic elements were accurate - in many...
Transformative Adaptation Is Needed For A Water And Food Secure World
By Aditi Mukherji posted on
03/11/2021
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Every year, the month of March fills me with hope. As a woman of color, working on solving the world's water problems, March lets me celebrate two causes that I am absolutely passionate about: those of women and water. This March, however, is also bittersweet. It has been exactly a...
