2019 World Food Prize Week: Pax Agricultura: Peace Through Agriculture

The 2019 Borlaug Dialogue International Symposium will convene a fantastic array of international leaders; policy makers; farmers; executives from agribusiness and non-governmental organizations; and scientific, academic and development experts to address the most critical issues facing global food security on October 16-18 in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. This year’s theme,  “Pax Agricultura: Peace Through Agriculture,” will address the increasingly intersectional issues of food security, conflict and development. With topics ranging from religion, diplomacy, climate, scientific innovation and corporate leadership, this year’s Dialogue will serve as an opportunity to take stock of the current state of global agriculture and food security. 

The full agenda and speaker list can be found at www.worldfoodprize.org/agenda. All sessions will also be webcast live from www.worldfoodprize.org/live.

This year’s Borlaug Dialogue will be held at the Downtown Marriott Hotel in Des Moines. Other side and partner events will be held around downtown Des Moines, and details for each day’s side events can be found in the full agenda above.

Highlighted speakers this year will include:

• Ms. Jessica Adelman, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, The Kroger Co. 

• Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank

• Dr. Richard Broglie, Chief Technology Officer, Pivot Bio

• Hon. William Brownfield, Senior Fellow, CSIS

• Mr. James C. Collins, CEO, Corteva Agriscience 

• Mr. Liam Condon, President, CropScience Division, Bayer AG 

• Amb. Ertharin Cousin, Distinguished Fellow, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs

• Ms. Dina Esposito, Vice President of Technical Leadership, Mercy Corps

• Dr. Shenggen Fan, Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute

• Dr. David Festa, Senior Vice President, Ecosystems, Environmental Defense Fund

• Ms. Erin Fitzgerald, CEO, U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance

• Ms. Kimberly Flowers, Director, Humanitarian Agenda & Global Food Security Project

• Prof. Dr. Ir. Louise O. Fresco, President Executive Board, Wageningen University & Research

• Mr. Erik Fyrwald, CEO, Syngenta

• Mr. Elwyn Grainger-Jones, Executive Director, CGIAR System Organization

• Hon. Mark Green, Administrator, USAID

• Mr. Simon Groot, Founder, East-West Seed

• Mr. Neal Gutterson, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Corteva Agriscience

• Dr. Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director, GAIN

• Ms. Marie Haga, Executive Director, Global Crop Diversity Trust

• Ms. Cynthia Hardin Milligan, President & CEO, Wood Stieper Capital Group

• Mrs. Liz Hare, Executive Director, American Soybean Association's World Initiative for Soy in Human Health

• Mr. John Heisdorffer, Member, Board of Directors, American Soybean Association

• Mr. Gilbert Houngbo, President, International Fund for Agricultural Development

• Mr. Ken Isley, Administrator, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service

• Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young, Administrator, USDA Agricultural Research Service

• Prof. Molly Jahn, Principal, Jahn Research Group

• Mr. Joseph Jones, Executive Director, The Harkin Institute

• Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa

• Hon. Kristie A. Kenney, Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University

• Ms. Heidi Kuhn, CEO, Roots of Peace 

• Dr. Rattan Lal, Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science, Ohio State University 

• Mr. Kirk Leeds, CEO, Iowa Soybean Association

• Mr. Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator, UN-OCHA

• Hon. George Moose, Vice Chairman of the Board, USIP 

• Hon. Gerardine Mukeshimana, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Rwanda 

• Dr. Emma Naluyima, Farmer and Private Veterinarian

• Hon. John Negroponte, Vice Chairman, McLarty Associates 

• Dr. Chris Nelson, President & CEO, Kemin Industries 

• Mr. Samuel Kwame Ntim Adu, CEO, Yedent Agro Group of Companies Ltd.

• Ms. Josephine Okot, Managing Director, Victoria Seeds Ltd

• Hon. Nancy Powell, Formerly Department of State 

• Ms. Debbie Reed, Executive Director, Ecosystem Services Market Consortium LLC

• Ms. Polly Ruhland, CEO, United Soybean Board

• Dr. Timothy D. Sands, President, Virginia Tech 

• Mr. Paul Schicker, Member, Board of Directors; The Chicago Council on Global Affairs

• Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Founding Director Emeritus & Member of the Board of Trustees, Library of Alexandria

• Hon. Josette Sheeran, President & CEO, Asia Society 

• Dr. James Smith CBE, Chief Executive Officer, Aegis Trust

• Dr. Roy Steiner, Managing Director for the Food Initiative, The Rockefeller Foundation

• Dr. Gunhild Stordalen, Founder & Executive Chair, EAT 

• H.E. Chanthol Sun, Minister of Public Works and Transport, Cambodia 

• Mr. Roger Thurow, Senior Fellow, Author; The Chicago Council on Global Affairs

• H.E. Felix Tshisekidi, President, The Democratic Republic of the Congo

• Dr. Victor Villabos, Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mexico

• Mr. Rodger Voorhies, Executive Director, Global Growth and Opportunity, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 

• Dr. Wendy Wintersteen, President, Iowa State University

In addition, there will be a variety of press conferences this year: 

Wednesday, October 16

• 2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Rev. David Beckmann Press Conference

  • Press have the opportunity to speak with Rev. David Beckmann, a 2010 World Food Prize Laureate

• 3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application Recipient Press Conference

  • Press have the opportunity to speak with the 2019 Norman Borlaug Field Award Recipient Dr. Hale Ann Tufan

Thursday, October 17

• 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. 2019 Laureate Press Conference

  • Press have the opportunity to speak with the 2019 Laureate Simon N. Groot 

Event organizers cannot guarantee entry to media that have not registered ahead of time. Verified members of the press will need to produce a valid press badge onsite in order to collect their credentials for access to any events during the World Food Prize Week of Events.

• Members of the media can apply for press credentials at www.worldfoodprize.org/pressregistration.

• The full agenda and speaker list can be found at www.worldfoodprize.org/dialogue.

• Many sessions of the event will also be webcast live from www.worldfoodprize.org/live.
   

Taking place today, The Iowa Hunger Summit is a free event gathering several hundred leaders from across Iowa representing community organizations, business and industry, state and local government, social agencies, churches and religious communities, schools and universities, and other groups that lead or participate in projects to confront hunger. The day will include morning presentations on One Egg: Fresh Eggs Mozambique; Going Glocal, A Recipe for Sustainable Nutrition; Taking the Mystery Out of Advocacy; and Creating International Faith-based and Community Partnerships to Provide a Future for Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries.

Following panels will be the annual Hunger Luncheon featuring a meal and a keynote presentation by Suzanne P. Clark, President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Lunch will also include the presentation of the “Robert D. Ray Iowa SHARES Award,” which annually recognizes an Iowan or group of Iowans who have provided significant leadership confronting hunger at home and abroad. Two recipients, R.W. and Mary Nelson, will receive the award for their commitment to outreach to remote countries and communities. Afternoon breakout sessions will entail in-depth conversation covering various topics of interest while providing practical tools for taking the fight against hunger to the next level. The event is free and open to the public, but guests must register to attend. See the full agenda at https://www.iowahungersummit.org/agenda.

Additional events surrounding the 2018 Borlaug Dialogue will include:

• Iowa Hunger Summit (October 15): This free event gathers several hundred leaders from across Iowa representing community organizations, business and industry, state and local government, social agencies, churches and religious communities, schools and universities, and other groups that lead or participate in projects to confront hunger.

• Borlaug Lecture “First: The Seed” (October 14, 8:00 pm at Memorial Union Great Hall at Iowa State University): The 2019 Laureate will present the annual Borlaug Lecture, moderated by ISU President Wendy Wintersteen. This is a free public event.

• Award Ceremony and Reception for the Borlaug Field Award for Research and Application, Endowed by the Rockefeller Foundation (Oct 16, 6:00 pm at the Hall of Laureates): This event honors a scientist under the age of 40 who emulates Dr. Borlaug. This event is open to the media.

• Laureate Award Ceremony (October 17): This year’s Laureate, Mr. Simon Groot, will be honored and officially awarded the World Food Prize during this event. The Laureate Award Ceremony has limited space, so it will have limited media access. If you are interested in covering the event, please note your interest on your registration form. Media granted access will be notified the week of events and can pick up their credentials in the Press Room at the Marriott. The ceremony is also shown live on IPTV and via webcast.

• Global Youth Institute (October 18 at the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center): Each year, more than 200 exceptional high school students and their teachers from across the United States and other countries are selected to participate in the World Food Prize Global Youth Institute. At this inspiring event, the next generation presents and discusses their solutions to global food security challenges with a "faculty panel" of international experts and their peers, connects with other students from around the world, tours cutting-edge industrial and research facilities, and takes part in discussions with global leaders in science, industry and policy. This event is open to the media.