Biofortification Scientists Awarded with 2016 World Food Prize in Des Moines

The 2016 World Food Prize laureates Drs. Maria Andrade, Howarth Bouis, Jan Low, and Robert Mwanga were honored during an awarding ceremony on October 13, 2016 at the Iowa State Capitol, Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. before an international audience. Drs. Andrade, Low, and Mwanga of the International Potato Center (CIP) were recognized for their efforts in developing "the single most successful example of biofortification" which is the orange-fleshed sweet potato. Dr. Bouis was lauded for creating HarvestPlus, an organization that focuses on improving nutrition and public health through biofortification.

"At a time when malnutrition, stunting and early childhood death remain a scourge for millions on our planet, the four 2016 World Food Prize Laureates have uplifted the health and well being of more than 10 million persons through the biofortification of staple crops, particularly the vitamin fortified orange fleshed sweet potato," Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, President of the World Food Prize said. "They have truly fulfilled the dictum attributed to Hippocrates from almost 2,400 years ago - to "Let Food Be Thy Medicine."

The 2016 laureates were initially announced in July 2016. The awarding ceremony held in Des Moines was part of the annual Borlaug Dialogue, a premier food security conference.

Read the media release from the World Food Prize.