Norman Ernest Borlaug, known as the father of “modern agriculture” and the father of the “green revolution”, was born in 25 March 1914 in a small farm near Cresco in Iowa. He studied at the University of Minnesota, where he earned his B.S. in forestry (1937), M.S. in forest pathology (1939) and Ph.D. in plant pathology and genetics (1942).

From 1942 to 1944, he was a microbiologist on the staff of the du Pont de Nemours Foundation in Delaware where he worked on industrial and agricultural bactericides, fungicides, and preservatives.

In 1944, Dr. Borlaug joined the Rockefeller Foundation cooperative project with the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture as head of the wheat research and improvement program.

When the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations, in cooperation with the Government of Mexico, established the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) at El Batan near Mexico City, Dr. Borlaug was made director of its International Wheat Improvement Program. Borlaug and his staff in Mexico spent nearly 20 years breeding the high-yield dwarf wheat varieties. These new varieties resisted a wide spectrum of plant pests and diseases, and produced two to three times more grain than the traditional varieties. In 1965, they started a massive campaign to ship the miracle wheat to Pakistan and India and teach local farmers how to cultivate it properly. By 1968, the U.S. Agency for International Development had already hailed Borlaug's achievement as a "Green Revolution."

In Pakistan, wheat yields rose from 4.6 million tons in 1965 to 8.4 million in 1970. In India, they rose from 12.3 million tons to 20 million. And the yields continue to increase. Soon after Borlaug's success with wheat, his colleagues at the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research developed high-yield rice varieties that quickly spread the Green Revolution through most of Asia. This revolution made it possible to improve living conditions for hundreds of millions of people living in the developing countries. Since then, Dr. Borlaug has continued working tirelessly in saving millions from starvation and suffering.

He has been honored by numerous institutions in the United States, Pakistan, India, Norway, Canada and many other countries. He serves on many boards and advises governments in the developing world on food production.

Dr. Borlaug's highest honor, the Nobel Prize for Peace, was awarded to him in 1970 for his untiring efforts to save the hungry of the world. He later was instrumental in the establishment of the World Food Prizes, an international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world.

Dr. Borlaug still works to get modern agricultural technology into the hands of hungry farmers in the developing world. Today, he is a consultant to the International Maize and Wheat Center in Mexico, and President of the Sasakawa Africa Association, a private Japanese foundation working to spread the Green Revolution to sub-Saharan Africa.

He is also one of the patrons of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications.

"If you desire peace, cultivate justice, but at the same time cultivate the fields to produce more bread; otherwise there will be no peace."

-- Norman E. Borlaug, Oslo, Norway, December 11, 1970