NAAS showcases Indian agri-research at World Food Prize Foundation's Borlaug Dialogue 2026; Indian student wins GYI award
23-10-2026 · English
Topics: Tamil Nadu & Agriculture · 23 October 2026 Current Affairs (UPSC / TNPSC / SSC / RRB)
News
At the World Food Prize Foundation's '2026 Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue' (theme: 'Before Hunger Wins') in Des Moines, Iowa, USA, on 20–22 Oct 2026, the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), New Delhi, took part: an exhibition booth of NAAS and ICAR publications; 7 Indian high-school students selected through 'NAAS-YUVA' presented food-security research papers at the Global Youth Institute (GYI); among them Ameena Nazreen A S won the GYI award (US$500 cash). Dr M.L. Jat, Secretary DARE and DG ICAR, addressed a roundtable on agricultural higher education virtually; NAAS signed an MoU with the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST), USA.
Key facts
| Event | 2026 Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue – 20–22 Oct, Des Moines, Iowa (USA) |
| Theme | 'Before Hunger Wins' – 40th year of the World Food Prize |
| Student award | Ameena Nazreen A S – GYI award, US$500; 7 students chosen via 'NAAS-YUVA' |
| MoU | NAAS – CAST (USA): research, capacity building, knowledge exchange |
| 2026 Prize | Huub Lelieveld (Netherlands) – global food-safety standards; US$500,000 |
Background
- World Food Prize: founded in 1986 by Norman Borlaug, Nobel Peace laureate (1970); called the 'Nobel of agriculture'; prize US$500,000. The first prize (1987) went to M.S. Swaminathan. The Borlaug Dialogue is held every October in Des Moines, around World Food Day (16 Oct).
- 2026 laureate: Huub Lelieveld of the Netherlands – food-safety science; led a volunteer effort in 113+ countries to build science-based international food-safety standards, cutting foodborne illness and food loss (announced March 2026).
- NAAS: National Academy of Agricultural Sciences – set up in 1990; located in the NASC Complex, Pusa, New Delhi; the idea was proposed by Dr B.P. Pal. It honours agricultural scientists and publishes policy papers.
- Per FAO, food security has four dimensions: availability, access, utilisation and stability.
Tamil Nadu link: M.S. Swaminathan, first World Food Prize laureate (1987), was born in Kumbakonam and is the father of India's Green Revolution. With the prize money he founded the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) in Chennai in 1988. (The award-winning student's school/State was not reported.)
Source: The Statesman, Mumbai Tribune, 23 Oct 2026; GKToday; Drishti IAS (World Food Prize 2026); World Food Prize Foundation; Wikipedia (NAAS)
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