World Food Prize Foundation
2024 Borlaug Dialogue
October 29 – 31, 2024
| Des Moines, Iowa
Seeds of Opportunity: Bridging Generations and Cultivating Diplomacy
The 2024 Borlaug Dialogue convened under the theme “Seeds of Opportunity: Bridging Generations and Cultivating Diplomacy,” echoing Dr. Norman Borlaug’s enduring vision of breaking barriers and transcending boundaries for global food security.
This thematic framework emphasized the vital role of integrating past wisdom, current innovations and the pressing needs of tomorrow, by leveraging agricultural technology to address contemporary challenges. It underscored the importance of intergenerational collaboration and diplomatic engagement in achieving sustainable solutions.
By uniting diverse stakeholders — from the heart of farming communities to the heights of corporate boardrooms, from the impassioned voices of youth to the seasoned wisdom of established experts — we strived to nurture fertile ground for innovation, collaboration and opportunity. This effort is especially pivotal for preserving crop diversity and safeguarding other vital resources crucial for securing our global food supply against looming threats.
Through this concerted effort, we endeavored to plant a seed for equitable access to nutritious food for all, embodying Dr. Borlaug’s legacy of humanitarianism and scientific determination.
Transcripts by Agenda
9:00 AM- 9:15 AM | WELCOME REMARKS | Video | Transcript
Ambassador Terry Branstad | President at World Food Prize Foundation
Mashal Husain | Chief Operating Officer at World Food Prize Foundation
9:15 AM- 10:00 AM | ACHIEVING A HUNGER-FREE WORLD | Video | Transcript
Hon. Akinwumi Adesina | 2017 World Food Prize Laureate and President at African Development Bank Group
Ajay Banga | President at World Bank Group
Roger Thurow | Journalist and Author
10:00 AM- 10:15 AM | FROM GENETICS TO THE NEXT GENERATION: WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, AND THE FOOD CULTURE? | Video | Transcript
QU Dongyu | Director-General at United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
10:15 AM- 11:00 AM | BOLD MEASURES TO FEED AFRICA- PART 1 | Video | Transcript
Beth Dunford | Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development at African Development Bank Group
Cary Fowler | 2024 World Food Prize Laureate and Special Envoy for Global Food Security at U.S. Department of State
Soon-Kwan Kim | President, International Corn Foundation and Chair- Professor at Handong Global University
Géradine Mukeshimana | Vice-President at International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
Tara Nathan | 2024 Top Agri-food Pioneer and Executive Vice President of Community Pass and Strategic Growth at Mastercard
11:00 AM- 11:30 AM | FEED THE FUTURE: MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION AND ZAMBIA CELEBRATE $458 MILLION AG PARTNERSHIP | Video | Transcript
Alice Albright | Chief Executive Officer at Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)
Dina Esposito | Assistant to the Administrator for the Bureau for Resilience, Environment, and Food Security at United States for International Development (USAID)
Hon. Reuben Mtolo Phiri | Minister of Agriculture at Zambia
1:45 PM- 2:30 PM | FOSTERING DIPLOMATIC SOLUTIONS FOR FOOD SECURITY | Video | Transcript
Ben McLean | Chief Executive Officer at Ruan Transportation. Management Systems
H.E. Dr. Elsie S. Kanza | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Republic of Tanzania to the USA at United Republic of Tanzania
Hon. Hussein Bashe | Minister of Agriculture at United Republic of Tanzania
Hon. Henry Musa Kpaka | Minister of Agriculture and Food Security at Government of Sierra Leone
Hon. Laura Suazo | Secretary of Agriculture and Livestock at Republic of Honduras
Ambassador Ertharin Cousin | CEO and Managing Director at Food Systems for the Future
2:30 PM- 2:40 PM | REGENERATIVE CROPPING SYSTEMS: A SOLUTION FOR THE FUTURE | Video | Transcript
Ty Vaughn | Head of Plant Biotechnology at Bayer Crop Science
2:40 PM- 3:25 PM | STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS IN NUTRITION: NOW AND FOR THE NEXT GENERATION | Video | Transcript
Catherine Bertini | 2003 World Food Prize Laureate and Board Chair at Global Crop Diversity Trust
Lawrence Haddad | 2018 World Food Prize Laureate and Executive Director at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition
Agnes Kalibata | President at AGRA
Shenggen Fan | Member, World Food Prize Foundation Council of Advisors, Professor and Dean at China Agricultural University
3:25 PM- 3:40 PM | C-SUITE CONNECT: THE IMPACT OF ADVOCACY ON BUILDING ADAPTATION, RESILIENCY AND FOOD SECURITY AT HOME AND ABROAD | Video | Transcript
Eric Mitchell | President at Alliance to End Hunger
3:40 PM- 3:45 PM | 30 YEARS OF YOUTH EMPOWERMENT: HONORING THE LEADERS OF TOMORROW | Video | Transcript
Calla Doh | Global Youth Institute Alum and Student at Rice University
3:45 PM- 4:15 PM | DIALOGUENEXT IN MEXICO: NURTURING FARMER RESILIENCE AND CULTIVATING GLOBAL SOLUTIONS ACROSS CONTINENTS | Video | Transcript
Julie Borlaug | Member, World Food Prize Foundation Council of Advisors and President at Borlaug Consulting
Bram Govaerts | 2014 Borlaug Field Award Recipient and Director General at CIMMYT
Aditi Mukherji | Director at Climate Change Adaptation Mitigation Impact Action Platform, CGIAR
4:15 PM- 4:30 PM | CLOSING REMARKS | Video | Transcript
Julie Borlaug | Member, World Food Prize Foundation Council of Advisors and President at Borlaug Consulting
9:00 AM- 9:10 AM | OPENING REMARKS: CROP DIVERSITY- OUR LIFELINE FOR BETTER NUTRITION AND CLIMATE SURVIVAL | Video | Transcript
Stefan Schmitz | Executive Director at Crop Trust
9:10 AM- 9:50 AM | LIVE WIITH THE LAUREATES: THE POWER OF BIODIVERSITY IN FEEDING THE WORLD | Video | Transcript
Cary Fowler | 2024 World Food Prize Laureate and Special Envoy for Global Food Security at U.S. Department of State
Geoffrey Hawtin | 2024 World Food Prize Laureate and Executive Board Member at Global Crop Diversity Trust
Daphne Ewing- Chow | Food and Environmental Journalist
9:50 AM- 9:55 AM | SEEDS OF SECURITY: A FARMER’S JOURNEY | Video | Transcript
Stella Thomas | Farmer, Nigeria at Global Farmer Network
9:55 AM- 10:00 AM | INTRODUCTION: JOHN RUAN III KEYNOTE ADDRESS | Video | Transcript
Rachel Ruan McLean | Vice- Chair at World Food Prize Foundation Council of Advisors
10:00 AM- 10:10 AM | JOHN RUAN III KEYNOTE ADDRESS: A MODEST VISIONARY WITH A LASTING LEGACY | Video | Transcript
Michael Gartner | Journalist, Attorney and Businessman
10:10 AM- 10:20 AM | C-SUITE CONNECT SERIES: FROM IDEAS TO ACTION – DRIVING IMPACT WITH PURPOSEFUL PARTNERSHIPS | Video | Transcript
Jim Snee | Board Chair, President and CEO at Hormel Foods
Elsa Murano | Member, World Food Prize Foundation Council of Advisors and Director at Norman E. Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture, Texas A&M University
10:20 AM- 10:50 AM | CULTIVATING GOLD: ADVANCING COLLABORATION AND YOUTH EMPOWERMENT IN FOOD, AGRICULTURE, AND NUTRITION | Video | Transcript
Robert J. Jones | World Food Prize Foundation Council of Advisors and Chancellor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Jackie Joyner- Kersee | Olympic Legend and Philanthropist, Founder and CEO at Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation
Jim Snee | Board Chair, President and CEO at Hormel Foods
10:50 AM- 11:00 AM | FEATURING 38 WORLD FOOD PRIZE FOUNDATION TOP AGRI-FOOD PIONEERS | Video | Transcript
Mashal Husain | Chief Operating Officer at World Food Prize Foundation
11:00 AM- 11:15 AM | C-SUITE CONNECT: AGRICULTURE’S TIME MACHINE- HOW TRACTORS ARE SHAPING THE FUTURE OF AFRICAN FARMING | Video | Transcript
Jehiel Oliver | 2024 Top Agri-food Pioneer, Founder & CEO at Hello Tractor, Inc.
11:15 AM- 12:15 AM | CULINARY CONVERSATIONS: SERVING SOLUTIONS FOR A MORE SUSTAINABLE WORLD | Video | Transcript
Sanaa Abouorezk | Chef and Restaurateur at Sanaa’s Gourmet Mediterranean
Eitan Bernath | Chef, Author, TV Personality / High-Level Supporter, United Nations World Food Programme
Lazarus Lynch | Chef, Psychotherapist, Social Worker and Author at Son of a Southern Chef
1:45 PM- 2:00 PM | ANNOUNCEMENT: INNOVATE FOR IMPACT CHALLENGE | Video | Transcript
Billi Hunt | Executive Director at America’s Cultivation Corridor
Mashal Husain | Chief Operating Officer at World Food Prize Foundation
Paul Schickler | Chair at World Food Prize Foundation Council of Advisos
2:00 PM- 2:45 PM | AGTECH UNLEASHED: INNOVATING ACROSS THE AGRIBUSINESS CHAIN | Video | Transcript
Tim Bucher | Top Agri-food Pioneer, CEO and Co-Founder at Agtonomy
Jorge Fernández Vidal | Managing Director and Head Agriculture & Food at Liechtenstein Group
Ingrid Fung | VP, Enterprise Ops and Strategy at GreenLight Biosciences
Jason Wargent | Founder and Chief Science Officer at BioLumic
Gerson Freitas Jr. | Energy and Commodities Reporter and Deputy Team Leader for the Agriculture Americas Team at Bloomberg News
2:45 PM- 3:30 PM | CASE STUDY: HOW A “NEWTYPE” INNOVATION MODEL CAN REIMAGINE AGRICULTURE FOR US ALL | Video | Transcript
Matt Marshall | VP, Sustainable Ag & Retail Strategy at Nutrien
Scott Raubenstine | Vice President of Agricultural Services at Perdue AgriBusiness LLC
Jm Schweigert | President at Gro Alliance
Han Chen | 2024 Top Agri-food Pioneer, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at ZeaKal
3:30 PM- 3:45 PM | C-SUITE CONNECT: HARNESSING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR DIGITAL EXTENSION SERVICES | Video | Transcript
Rikin Gandhi | Co-Founder and CEO at Digital Green
3:45 PM- 4:30 PM | ADVANCING THE FIELD: SPARKING INNOVATION IN ANIMAL AGRICULTURE | Video | Transcript
Judith de Vor | Farmer, The Netherlands at Global Farmer Network
Appolinaire Djikeng | 2024 Top Agri-food Pioneer and Director General at International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
Surita Sandosham | President and CEO at Heifer International
Manuel Otero | Director General at Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)’
4:30 PM- 5:30 PM | BORLAUG FIELD AWARD CEREMONY AND RECEPTION | Video | Transcript
Dennis Beesigamukama | 2024 Norman Borlaug Field Award Recipient and Postdoctoral Fellow at International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe)
Ronnie Coffman | Chair, Borlaug Field Award Jury and International Professor Emeritus at Cornell University
Jeanie Borlaug Laube | Chair at Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI)
9:00 AM- 9:05 AM | 30 YEARS OF YOUTH LEADERSHIP: A JOURNEY OF IMPACT AND INNOVATION | Video | Transcript
Addie Thompson | Global Youth Institute Alum and Assistant Professor at Michigan State University
9:05 AM- 9:50 AM | FROM INSIGHT TO ACTION: DREAM, PLAN, AND SOLVE | Video | Transcript
Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn | President Emeritus at World Food Prize Foundation
Hon. Tom Vilsack | U.S. Secretary of Agriculture at United States
Hon. Andrew Young | Chairman at Andrew J. Young Foundation
9:55 AM- 10:45 PM | BOLD MEASURES TO FEED AFRICA- PART 2 | Video | Transcript
Ambassador Terry Branstad | President at World Food Prize Foundation
H.E. Julius Maada Bio | President at Sierra Leone
Hon. Samia Suluhu Hassan | President at United Republic of Tanzania
Hon. Akinwumi Adesina | 2017 World Food Prize Laureate and President at African Development Bank Group
Hon. Isobel Coleman | Deputy Administrator for Policy and Programming at USAID
10:45 AM- 11:30 AM | REGENERATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR HEALTHY SOILS, PEOPLE, AND THE PLANET | Video | Transcript
Violet Grgich | President at Grgich Hills Estate Winery
Brooke Hansen | Sustainability Director, Cargill Agricultural Supply Chain North America at Cargill
Alexey Rostapshov | Head of Digital Business & Sustainability Solutions at John Deere
Melina Walling | Agriculture & Climate Reporter at The Associated Press
1:20 PM- 2:00 PM | LUNCH PROGRAM: PASSING DOWN GENERATIONAL KNOWLEDGE: ON THE FARM AND ACROSS THE INDUSTRY | Video | Transcript
Tim Bardole | Farmer and Director at United Soybean Board and Iowa Soybean Association
Alejandro Jaramillo Truijillo | CEO at Grupo Bios Animal Nutrition
Sejiro Michael Oke-Tojinu | Aquaculture Farmer at Sej Farms
Lindiwe Sibanda | Chairperson at CGIAR System Board
2:00 PM- 2:20 PM | 30TH ANNIVERSARY GLOBAL YOUTH INSTITUTE CELEBRATION | Video | Transcript
Jeanie Borlaug Laube | Chair at Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI)
Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn | President Emeritus at World Food Prize Foundation
Jon Wogman | Director, Youth Programs and Partnerships at World Food Prize Foundation
2:20 PM- 2:25 PM | ANNOUNCEMENT: DAVID LAMBERT SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT | Video | Transcript
Manjit Misra | Director at U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
2:25 PM- 3:00 PM | GLOBAL DISCUSSION: CULTIVATING THE NEXT GENERATION OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL LEADERS | Video | Transcript
Kennedy Bentley | Student at 1890 Next Gen Student
Ronald A. Johnson | Interim President at Tennessee State University
Paul Schickler | Chair at World Food Prize Foundation Council of Advisors
Wendy Wintersteen | Member, World Food Prize Foundation Council of Advisors, President at Iowa State University
Manjit Misra | Director at U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
3:00 PM- 3:15 PM | CLOSING REMARKS | Video | Transcript
Paul Schickler | Chair at World Food Prize Foundation Council of Advisors