#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, and staff. It is our hope that this blog series will create a conversation between farmers, NGOs, CEOs and people across the globe.
Improving the Health of Our Planet One Field at a Time
By Karsten Temme posted on
06/03/2019
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When Dr. Borlaug arrived in Mexico in 1944, wheat crops were being decimated by stem rust. The country imported much of the grain required to feed its hungry population. It was a problem nations across the globe were encountering: advances in medicine and technology meant their citizens were living longer,...
Feeding India's Future
By Marshall Bouton posted on
05/27/2019
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As Prime Minister Narendra Modi readies for a second term in office, one of his greatest challenges will be India’s persistent agrarian crisis. Five decades after the launch of Dr. Norman E. Borlaug’s Green Revolution, India has achieved national self-reliance in food grain production but failed to make farm livelihoods...
Norm Borlaug and The World Food Prize From My Foxhole
By Lt. Gen. William E. (Kip) Ward posted on
05/20/2019
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Several months ago, as a member of the United States Global Leadership Coalition’s National Security Advisory Council, I had the privilege of participating on a panel during the Borlaug Dialogue and attending the 2018 World Food Prize Laureate Award Ceremony and dinner in Des Moines, Iowa. To have been a...
Why Social Studies Matters in the Legacy of Dr. Borlaug
By Stefanie Wager posted on
05/13/2019
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I never had the opportunity to meet Dr. Borlaug, but his story is one for the ages. I mean, how many of us will ever be able to say that we helped save over a billion people? I don’t know when he first showed an interest in science and agriculture,...
Borlaug’s Vision and Impact
By Dr. Marty Matlock posted on
05/06/2019
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In order to know where we are going, we must know where we came from and how we got where we are.
Dr. Norman Borlaug said in accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, “There can be no permanent progress in the battle against hunger until the agencies that fight for increased...
The Father of the Green Revolution—Agriculturalist, Scientist, and Communicator
By Dan Gogerty posted on
04/29/2019
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Norman Borlaug is known as “the man who fed the world,” but he also was the acclaimed scientist who never forgot his roots. From his farm boy days in Iowa to his influential work with the World Food Prize and the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, Borlaug had his...
Why the World Food Prize is Important to Me
By Mark Gee posted on
04/22/2019
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Why is the World Food Prize important to me? The answer begins with the World Food Prize Symposium in 2006 when I was ten. My parents told my brother and me, “People from around the world are coming to Des Moines, and we are going to meet them.” I was...
#RememberingBorlaug at the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation
By Christy Leema posted on
04/15/2019
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One major global issue that continues to pose a challenge is persistent hunger and poverty. Dr. Norman E. Borlaug’s path-breaking work to address the problem of world hunger led to the green revolution in India. Professor M. S. Swaminathan, founder of the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) and the...
Building a Future for All
By Kody Olson posted on
04/08/2019
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“If I have anything to contribute to this world, I’m going to play that card and I’m going to play it hard.” –Dr. Norman E. Borlaug
Growing up in rural Iowa being a deaf farm boy came with a lot of tough lessons. One of the most important things that I...
Building “Team Borlaug” Through the Global Farmer Network
By Mary Boote posted on
04/01/2019
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For Norman Borlaug, it was always about the farmers.
He loved to meet them, talk with them, work beside them. That’s what he did until the day he died in 2009. His last words, in fact, summed up the focus of his life: “Take it to the farmer.”
I met Dr. Borlaug...