Norman E. Borlaug
No one could have known when Norman E. Borlaug was born at the beginning of the twentieth century that he would someday change world wheat production and save millions of lives. He began his work with wheat in Mexico and discoveries made there were later modified and used in South Asia, China, and Africa. As one of the greatest agriculturists of his time, his work has not gone unnoticed, and he has won numerous awards in his lifetime. Norman E. Borlaug is responsible for feeding millions of people and changing farming practices around the world.
Born in Cresco, Iowa on March 25, 1914, he went on to study at the University of Minnesota. There he received a B.S. in forestry and M.S. and Ph.D. in plant pathology. It was at the University of Minnesota where he first became involved with the Rockefeller Foundation-Mexican Government program. In 1943 Norman was recruited by the program to travel to Mexico with a team of scientists to resolve their wheat deficit. Being charged with this overwhelming task was an opportunity that allowed Borlaug’s career to take off. (Pino, 1983)
The work done to develop sustainable wheat farming in Mexico had results far beyond what anyone expected. The project began when U.S. vice president Henry Wallace traveled to Mexico in 1940 to discuss their wheat production problems. Wallace later called on the Rockefeller foundation to help Mexican farmers and that began the Rockefeller Foundation-Mexican Government program, also known as Oficina de Estudios Especiales (OEE). (Borlaug, 2007)
The first major advancement in Mexico was the development of a wheat shuttle breeding program to accelerate the breeding of rust resistant wheat. Experimental crops were grown in Yaqui valley in Sonora in the winter months and farther south in the Toluca valley in Chapingo in the summer months. (Borlaug, 2007)
In 1943 Borlaug was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation to breed high-yielding wheat that was resistant to stem rust. Stem rust was plaguing Latin America at the time, and the fungus was found throughout the agriculture business. (Comis, 2007) Borlaug was able to develop a high-yielding, rust resistant hybrid by testing in two different research stations situated 10 degrees of latitude and 2600 meters in altitude apart. In addition to rust resistance, the new hybrids were also insensitive to temperature and day length. However these new plants produced so much grain that they became overly top heavy and fell over destroying the harvest. (Mann, 1997) Due to this Borlaug and other researchers searched for a new strain with shorter stouter stalks, a “dwarf variety”, so that it could be crossed with the rust resistant strain.
During the period between 1960 and 1963 while working as an associate director for the OEE, Borlaug grew his first field of dwarf wheat. This wheat became known as Norin 10-Brevor hybrid. A short time later while working outside of Mexico City, he put this new dwarf wheat to good use. In 1969 wheat yields in Mexico had tripled from 11 bushels of wheat per acre to 39 bushels of wheat per acre. Borlaug had done it; he had helped Mexico to become self-sufficient. (Brinkley, 1996)
Soon after his success in Mexico, Borlaug made his way to the subcontinent of India. He brought with him the new Norin 10-Brevo hybrid dwarf wheat and his knowledge of the research in Mexico. Borlaug crossed the hybrid dwarf wheat with a native strain of India, and within one year wheat yields rose from 11 million tons of wheat to 56 million tons produced. This was in 1966 and India and Pakistan were eventually able to produce enough wheat to live on as well as wheat to export to other countries. The progress made in India during that time became known as the Green Revolution. (Brinkley, 1996)
The late 1970’s saw a Green Revolution in China as well. At the request of Chinese rulers Borlaug developed new ways to cultivate rice and wheat that would forever change Chinese agriculture. Borlaug’s semi-dwarf wheat varieties were especially popular. Government assistance that made irrigation water widely available and gave incentives to farmers to produce more food also helped agriculture to improve. In 1979 when Borlaug launched his program, China produced 41 million tons of wheat per year, but in 1984 production soared to 87 million tons annually. After this great success Borlaug chose to retire. (Brinkley, 1996)
Borlaug briefly left his retirement, however, in 1985 to attempt to solve the hunger crisis in Africa. The program called Global 2000 began by changing the farming practices of the poor in Ghana, Africa. Borlaug concentrated on showing farmers ways to produce that not only increased yields, but also helped the environment since they had been practicing destructive slash and burn agriculture. The experiment began with 40 prominent farmers whose yields tripled in the first year. In 1988 over 16,000 farmers participated and in 1989 that number was 85,000. In 1991 Ghana became self sufficient in its food production. (Brinkley, 1996)
With these tremendous achievements in agriculture and food production it is no surprise that Borlaug has received recognition worldwide. His most notable award is the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. He also continues to receive honorary degrees from institutions in areas where his work has made an impact. (Pino, 1983)
Borlaug’s work not only speaks volumes about his ability as a scientist, but also about the importance of agricultural advances worldwide. Although his work contributed to a dramatic drop in the amount of starving people worldwide, Borlaug recognizes that there is always room for innovation in order to feed a growing world population. He acknowledges that the world’s fortunate, not the poor, are responsible for ending hunger. He also warns that bureaucracy and complacency is not the path to sustainable agriculture that will feed the world. Every agriculturalist, every world citizen in fact, can learn from the perseverance, ambition, and achievements of Norman E. Borlaug.
Works Cited
Borlaug, N. E. (2007, October). Sixty-two years of fighting hunger: personal recollections. Euphytica , 287-297.
Brinkley, D. (1996). Bringing the Green Revolution to Africa. World Policy Journal , 53.
Comis, D. (2007). World Wheat Supply Threatened! Agricultural Research , 55 (10), 4-6.
Mann, C. (1997). Reseeding the Green Revolution. Science, New Series , 277, 1038-1043.
Pino, J. A. (1983, May). Norman E. Borlaug: Wheat Gardener for the World. Science of Food and Agriculture , 18-20.
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