2020 Rockefeller Foundation Donation to the Borlaug Training Foundation
The Borlaug Training Foundation has been awarded a $25,000 (USD) grant from The Rockefeller Foundation. The award will strengthen the Borlaug Training Foundation’s efforts to support practical in-field training of plant scientists working to improve crops around the world.
Fred Cholick, president of the Borlaug Training Foundation, says that this award is an excellent example of The Rockefeller Foundation’s enduring commitment to food security. “In the 1940s, Dr. Norman E. Borlaug was hired, through a joint venture between Mexico’s Ministry of Agriculture and The Rockefeller Foundation, to help increase Mexico’s wheat production. The Green Revolution was a product of the extraordinary work that followed. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) was also founded on this work and went on to develop an innovative research platform in Mexico, including internationally-renowned work in Ciudad Obregón, which continues to have sustained impacts around the world through exceptional research, training of scientists and engagement of farmers.”
In his 1970 lecture, “The Green Revolution, Peace and Humanity”, which accompanied his acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize, Dr. Borlaug described the philosophy, scope and impact of the role of training. In his own words, “…scientists were to play the role, not of consultants entrenched behind their documents in their offices, but as active participants in the practical manual labor and toil in the fields.” Dr. Borlaug continues, “Between the years 1943-1963 a total of 550 interns participated in the overall agricultural research and training programs…With this corps of trained scientists a new National Institute of Agricultural Research was born in 1961. The Rockefeller Foundation ‘had worked itself out of a job’, which was one of its original objectives.”
Jeanie Borlaug Laube, daughter of Dr. Borlaug and vice-president of the Borlaug Training Foundation, considers practical training a vital component of continuing her father’s legacy. “It’s not enough to just have technology, or a classroom education,” said Borlaug Laube, “plant scientists need to learn how to apply their knowledge within the field and take improvements to the farmer. That’s the gap that The Borlaug Training Foundation works to fill.”
The idea of the Borlaug Training Foundation was conceived in 2014 when international experts gathered for the Borlaug Summit on Wheat for Food Security commemorating “100 Years of Dr. Borlaug.” When they considered how best to nurture upcoming generations of plant scientists, the need for proactive funding to ensure hands-on field-based training into the future was evident. “For me, learning is about being in the classroom and in the field. What I learn in the classroom I can then go to the field and see in person,” said Batiseba Tembo, a former trainee supported by BTF, who is now a Senior Agricultural Research Officer with the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute. “When you see science in the field, whether it is selections or diseases, you won’t quickly forget it. Studying in the field has helped me so much,” added Tembo.
The Borlaug Training Foundation was officially incorporated as a U.S. nonprofit in 2015 with the mission to “develop plant scientists who fight hunger.” Trainees supported by the Foundation are prepared and inspired to make an impact for farmers and to serve as agricultural leaders in their countries. For more information, visit www.borlaugtrainingfoundation.org.
The Rockefeller Foundation advances new frontiers of science, data, policy and innovation to solve global challenges related to health, food, power and equity & economic opportunity. As a science-driven philanthropy focused on building collaborative relationships with partners and grantees, The Rockefeller Foundation seeks to inspire and foster large-scale human impact that promotes the well-being of humanity throughout the world by identifying and accelerating breakthrough solutions, ideas and conversations.
For more information, visit www.rockefellerfoundation.org.