World Food Prize Foundation
2008 Borlaug Dialogue
Confronting Crisis: Agriculture and Global Development in the Next Fifty Years
[ 2008 Symposium Brochure (PDF) ]
In 2008, the World Food Prize’s annual “Borlaug Dialogue” symposium presented an opportunity for global leaders and experts to take stock of current trends in agriculture and assess the extent to which current challenges or promises will impact food production, food security, the environment, and global development over the long-term.
These “conversations” were particularly compelling in the context of issues including:
- the rising cost of food production and food security;
- the ongoing challenge of a Green Revolution in Africa;
- promoting women’s leadership opportunities and gender equity in development;
- new prospects for food and agricultural trade reform under the Doha Round;
- the threats of climate change and biodiversity loss;
- changing patterns in food aid, development assistance, and partnerships in education;
- urbanization and development trends in emerging areas; and
- the private sector’s role in research and development across the food system
Transcripts by Agenda
Welcoming Remarks
Amb. Kenneth Quinn, United States – President, The World Food Prize Foundation
Keynote Address: The Global Agricultural Crisis of the 21st Century
Sir Gordon Conway, United Kingdom – Chief Scientific Adviser, UK DFID
Infrastructure’s Role in Agricultural Development and Poverty Alleviation
Graham Stegmann, United Kingdom
Special Adviser to the President, African Development Bank
Conversation: International Cooperation in Education, Extension, and Research
Peter McPherson, United States (Moderator) – President, NASULGC
W. Ronnie Coffman, United States – Director of Intl. Programs, Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Gregory Geoffroy, United States – President, Iowa State University
Monty Jones, Sierra Leone – Executive Director, Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa – 2004 World Food Prize Laureate
Olive Mugenda, Kenya – Vice Chancellor, Kenyatta University
Ren Wang, China -Director, CGIAR
Conversation: Promises and Challenges of Next-Generation Science and Technology
Scott Kilman, United States (Moderator) – Senior Writer, The Wall Street Journal
Martin Fisher, United States – Founding Director, KickStart International
Bernadene Magnuson, Canada – Senior Scientific/Regulatory Consultant, Cantox International
Clay Mitchell, United States – Cornell University/The Mitchell Farm
Roberto Rodrigues, Brazil – Co-chair, Interamerican Biofuel Coalition, Member, World Food Prize Council of Advisors
Paul Schickler, United States – President, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.
Judi Wangalwa Wakhungu, Kenya – Co-chair, International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD)
Agriculture and Development Impacts of Climate Change
Rita Sharma, India
Secretary to the Government,
Indian Ministry of Rural Development
Biodiversity and Agricultural Security
Cary Fowler, United States
Executive Director, The Global Crop Diversity Trust
Conversation: Biodiversity and Agricultural Security
Margaret Catley-Carlson, Canada (Moderator) – Chair, World Economic Forum Advisory Council on Water
Pamela Anderson, United States – Director-General, International Potato Center
Cary Fowler, United States – Executive Director, The Global Crop Diversity Trust
Emile Frison, Belgium – Director-General, Bioversity International
Rosamund Naylor, United States – Director, Stanford University Program on Food Security and the Environment
Ed Rege, Kenya – Director of Biotechnology, ILRI
Ravi Singh, India – Director of Bread Wheat Breeding, CIMMYT
Conversation: Trends & Impacts of Rising Agricultural Production Costs & Rising Food Prices
Bob Thompson, United States (Moderator) – Gardner Chair of Agricultural Policy, University of Illinois
Jim McCarthy, Ireland – Marburn Farm, County Kildare, Ireland
Rajul Pandya-Lorch, Kenya – Head, 2020 Vision Initiative, Intl. Food Policy Research Institute
John Powell, Australia – Deputy Executive Director, UN World Food Program
Jerry Steiner, United States – Senior Vice President, Monsanto
Carlo Trojan, The Netherlands – Chairman, Intl. Food and Agricultural Trade Policy Council
Summary Presentation
Jossette Lewis, United States
Director of the Office of Agriculture, USAID
Symposium Keynote Luncheon:
“Seizing the Moment, Seeding the Future”
Sylvia Mathews Burwell, United States
President of Global Development,
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Urbanization, the Rural Sector, and Socioeconomic Transition in Developing Areas
Robert Hormats, United States
Vice Chair, Goldman Sachs
Conversation: The Role of the Private Sector in Global Food Security and Development
Jerry Steiner, United States (Moderator) – Senior Vice President, Monsanto
Sarah Hull, United States – Global Head of Public and Government Affairs, Syngenta
Carl Hausmann, United States – CEO, Bunge North America
Robert Lane, United States – CEO, John Deere
Sheri Schellhaass, United States – President, Institute of Food Technologists, Vice President, General Mills
Samuel Worthington, United States – CEO, InterAction
Summary Presentation
Robert Zoellick, United States
President, The World Bank
Symposium Breakfast Introduction
Iowa Senator Charles Grassley, United States
Symposium Breakfast:
The Secretary’s Address
Hon. Ed Schafer, United States
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
Lessons Learned from Investments in Agricultural Development
Joaquim Chissano, Mozambique
Former President of Mozambique
Conversation: Lessons Learned from Investments in Agricultural Development
Roger Thurow, United States (Moderator) – Senior Writer, The Wall Street Journal
Joaquim Chissano, Mozambique – Former President of Mozambique
Rajiv Shah, United States – Director of Agricultural Development, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Rita Sharma, India – Secretary to the Government,Indian Ministry of Rural Development
Conversation: The Challenge of an African Green Revolution
Sir Gordon Conway, United Kingdom (Moderator) – Chief Scientific Adviser, UK DFID
Abdoulaye Diop, Mali – Ambassador of Mali to the United States
Daphrose Gahakwa, Rwanda – Minister of Education, Rwanda
Richard Mkandawire, Malawi – Director of Agriculture, NEPAD
Namanga Ngongi, Cameroon – President, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa
Pedro Sanchez, United States – Director, Tropical Agriculture/Rural Environment, Columbia University 2002 World Food Prize Laureate
Speciosa Wandira, Uganda – Former Vice President and Minister of Agriculture, Uganda
Laureate Luncheon Keynote Presentation
Judith Rodin, United States
President, Rockefeller Foundation
Conversation: Trade and Untapped Economic Growth in Developing Countries
* Hosted by the International Food & Agricultural Trade Policy Council
Ann Tutwiler, United States (Moderator) – Managing Director, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation
Kym Anderson, Australia – George Gollin Professor of Economics, University of Adelaide
PowerPoint
Pedro de Camargo Neto, Brazil – President, Brazilian Association of Pork Producers and Exporters
PowerPoint
Robert Thompson, United States
Gardner Chair in Agricultural Policy, University of Illinois
Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, African Union
Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, The African Union