![]() | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
![]() | |
Agency overview | |
---|---|
Formed | 1975 |
Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
Agency executives |
|
Website | www |
The Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD) advises the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on issues concerning agriculture, higher education in developing countries, and food insecurity. BIFAD was established and recognized by Title XII of the Foreign Assistance Act, and both the BIFAD board and Title XII recognize the critical role of U.S. land-grant institutions in food and agricultural security, domestically and abroad. [1] BIFAD consists of seven board members appointed by the White House, four of whom must have been part of the US Academic community. [2] The board's mission is to draw on the expertise and scientific knowledge of those in higher education to advise the US international assistance on the effect of domestic efforts to end food insecurity.
BIFAD was created by USAID in 1975, under Title XII (Famine Prevention and Freedom from Hunger) of the Foreign Assistance Act. [3] Title XII itself was passed in Congress to address the global issues of food insecurity and hunger. [4] Title XII highlighted the benefits of increased involvement of US Universities in agriculture, the need for developing countries to have trained people and thriving local institutions that can adapt to local needs, and how increased focus and efforts in agriculture can benefit both the US and other countries. BIFAD was also tasked with the formulation of basic policy, procedures, and criteria for project proposal review, selection, and monitoring, as noted in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. [3] BIFAD is the only presidentially appointed board that assists the Administrator of USAID in developing and implementing the official U.S. foreign assistance programs. [5]
BIFAD believes that the current[ as of? ] global challenges in terms of poverty and food insecurity are the current 800 million people suffering from chronic hunger, the 2 billion people affected by micronutrient deficiency, the 700 million people living in extreme poverty, and the growth in global population estimated to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, with growth occurring disproportionately in Africa and Asia. [6] Challenges facing the production of foodstuffs include the threat of new strains of pathogens, dropping water tables, and a changing climate. In order to address these problems food production will need to dramatically increase with limited resources, usage of land and water will need to improve, and disease and insect-resistant crops will need to be developed.[ citation needed ]
[7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Year | Chairman | Board Member | Board Member | Board Member | Board Member | Board Member | Board Member |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1976 | Dr. Clifton R. Wharton Jr. | ||||||
1977 | Dr. Clifton R. Wharton Jr. | ||||||
1978 | Dr. Clifton R. Wharton Jr. | Dr. Johnnie Watts Prothro | Dr. Orville G. Bentley | Dr. Anson R. Bertrand | Mr. Charles Krause | Mr. Peter McPherson | Dr. Gerald W. Thomas |
1979 | Dr. Clifton R. Wharton Jr. | Dr. Johnnie Watts Prothro | Dr. Orville G. Bentley | Mr. David Garst | Dr. Rebecca Robbins Polland | Mr. Peter McPherson | Dr. Gerald W. Thomas |
1980 | Dr. Clifton R. Wharton Jr. | Dr. Johnnie Watts Prothro | Dr. Orville G. Bentley* | Mr. David Garst | Dr. Rebecca Robbins Polland | Mr. Peter McPherson* | Dr. Gerald W. Thomas* |
1981 | Dr. Clifton R. Wharton Jr. | Dr. Johnnie Watts Prothro | Dr. C. Peter Magrath | Mr. David Garst | Dr. Rebecca Robbins Polland | Dr. E. T. York | Dr. H. F. Robinson |
1982 | Dr. Clifton R. Wharton Jr. | Dr. Johnnie Watts Prothro* | Dr. C. Peter Magrath | Mr. David Garst* | Dr. Rebecca Robbins Polland | Dr. E. T. York | Dr. H. F. Robinson |
1983 | Dr. Clifton R. Wharton Jr.* | Mr. Ernest T. Marshall | Dr. C. Peter Magrath | Mr. Daryl Arnold | Mr. Charles J. Marshall | Dr. E. T. York** | Dr. H. F. Robinson |
1984 | Dr. E. T. York | Mr. Ernest T. Marshall | Dr. Benjamin F. Payton | Dr. Duane C. Acker | Mr. Charles J. Marshall | Hon. Paul Fidley | Dr. Warren J. Baker |
1985 | Dr. E. T. York | Mr. Ernest T. Marshall* | Dr. Benjamin F. Payton | Dr. Duane C. Acker | Mr. Charles J. Marshall | Hon. Paul Fidley | Dr. Warren J. Baker |
1986 | Dr. E. T. York* | Mr. L. William McNutt Jr. | Dr. Benjamin F. Payton | Dr. Duane C. Acker | Mr. Charles J. Marshall* | Hon. Paul Fidley | Dr. Warren J. Baker |
1987 | Dr. William E. Lavery | Mr. L. William McNutt Jr. | Dr. Hugh LaBounty | Dr. Leonard Spearman | Dr. Jean Ruley Kearns | Hon. Paul Fidley | Dr. Leo Walsh |
1988 | Dr. William E. Lavery | Mr. L. William McNutt Jr.* | Dr. Hugh LaBounty | Dr. Leonard Spearman* | Dr. Jean Ruley Kearns | Hon. Paul Fidley | Dr. Leo Walsh |
1989 | Dr. William E. Lavery* | Dr. Wendell G. Rayburn | Dr. Hugh LaBounty | Mrs. Gwendolyn S. King | Dr. Jean Ruley Kearns | Hon. Paul Fidley | Dr. Leo Walsh |
1990 | Mr. Wales H. Madden Jr. | Dr. Wendell G. Rayburn | Dr. Hugh LaBounty | Mr. Christopher Hicks | Dr. Jean Ruley Kearns | Hon. Paul Fidley | Dr. Leo Walsh |
1991 | Mr. Wales H. Madden Jr. | Dr. Wendell G. Rayburn | Dr. Hugh LaBounty* | Mr. Christopher Hicks | Dr. Jean Ruley Kearns* | Hon. Paul Fidley | Dr. Leo Walsh |
1992 | Mr. Wales H. Madden Jr. | Dr. Wendell G. Rayburn | Dr. John Byrne | Mr. Christopher Hicks | Dr. John DiBiaggio | Hon. Paul Fidley | |
1993 | Mr. Wales H. Madden Jr. | Dr. Wendell G. Rayburn* | Dr. John Byrne* | Dr. John DiBiaggio* | |||
1994 | Mr. Wales H. Madden Jr. | ||||||
1995 | Dr. Edward Schuh | ||||||
1996 | Dr. Edward Schuh | ||||||
1997 | Dr. Edward Schuh | ||||||
1998 | Dr. Edward Schuh | ||||||
1999 | Dr. Edward Schuh | ||||||
2000 | Dr. Edward Schuh | ||||||
2001 | Dr. Edward Schuh* | ||||||
2002 | Peter McPherson | William Delauder | Carol Lewis | Anthony G. Laos | Micheal Deegan | Sharron Quisenberry | Stewart Iverson Jr. |
2003 | Peter McPherson | William Delauder | Carol Lewis | Anthony G. Laos | Micheal Deegan | Sharron Quisenberry | Stewart Iverson Jr. |
2004 | Peter McPherson | William Delauder | Carol Lewis | Anthony G. Laos | Micheal Deegan | Sharron Quisenberry | Stewart Iverson Jr. |
2005 | Peter McPherson | William Delauder | Carol Lewis | Anthony G. Laos | Micheal Deegan | Sharron Quisenberry | Stewart Iverson Jr. |
2006 | Peter McPherson | William Delauder | Allen Christensen | Anthony G. Laos | Micheal Deegan | Sharron Quisenberry | Stewart Iverson Jr. |
2007 | Robert Easter | William Delauder | Allen Christensen | Timothy Rabon | Catherine Bertini | H. H. Barlow III | John Thomas |
2008 | Robert Easter | William Delauder | Allen Christensen | Timothy Rabon | Catherine Bertini | H. H. Barlow III | Keith W. Eckel |
2009 | Robert Easter | William Delauder | Allen Christensen | Timothy Rabon | Catherine Bertini | H. H. Barlow III | Keith W. Eckel |
2010 | Robert Easter | William Delauder | Gebisa Ejeta | Timothy Rabon | Catherine Bertini | H. H. Barlow III | Elsa Murano |
2011 | Brady Deaton | William Delauder | Gebisa Ejeta | Marty McVey | Catherine Bertini | Jo Luck | Elsa Murano |
2012 | Brady Deaton | William Delauder | Gebisa Ejeta | Marty McVey | Catherine Bertini | Jo Luck | Elsa Murano |
2013 | Brady Deaton | Harold Martin Sr. | Gebisa Ejeta | Marty McVey | Catherine Bertini | Waded Cruzado | *Vacant* |
2014 | Brady Deaton | Harold Martin Sr. | Gebisa Ejeta | Marty McVey | Catherine Bertini | Waded Cruzado | *Vacant* |
2015 | Brady Deaton | Harold Martin Sr. | Gebisa Ejeta | Marty McVey | Catherine Bertini | Waded Cruzado | Cary Fowler |
2016 | Brady Deaton | Harold Martin Sr. | Gebisa Ejeta | James Ash | Pamela Anderson | Waded Cruzado | Cary Fowler |
2017 | Brady Deaton | Harold Martin Sr. | Gebisa Ejeta | James Ash | Pamela Anderson | Waded Cruzado | Cary Fowler |
2018 | Mark E. Keenum | Brady Deaton | Gebisa Ejeta | James Ash | Pamela Anderson | Waded Cruzado | Richard Lackey |
*Member left partway through the year
**Member became Chairman
One of BIFAD's goals, after its creation, was to determine the role higher education Institutions could have in agricultural development. As such, after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, BIFAD organised a task force to see what role Title XII agricultural Universities and other public land-grant institutions could have in the reconstruction of Haiti. Approved in January 2010, the task force was organised through several conference calls during the month of February, and developed the goal "to develop recommendations for BIFAD to deliver to the USAID Administrator regarding long-term Haiti reconstruction and regional development; and the role of land-grant universities in this." One idea for Universities to help with Haiti's reconstruction was to host students whose institution had been destroyed by the earthquake, so that they could continue or finish their studies without disturbances. The task force met in person in March to set realistic expectations with a focus on long-term thinking of a vision for Haiti. [15]
BIFAD, in coordination with the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) held a meeting on the US agricultural strategy in Afghanistan. Attending were representatives from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the State Department, the U.S. Central Command, the National Guard Bureau and the U.S. Marine Corp, and 21 representatives of Title XII institutions. The discussion concerned the institutional development of the Ministry of Agriculture in Afghanistan. With 80% of Afghanistan's population depending on agriculture, such development was seen[ by whom? ] as essential to prevent insurgencies, create employment opportunities, and the development of the country. After the meeting, a working group with representatives form the USDA, USAID, and Universities was created to continue meeting regularly to discuss what could be done for Agricultural "research, learning and extension competencies in Afghanistan to develop strategies and opportunities to expand long-term training." [16]
The BIFAD Board meets several times per year with the representatives from key institutions (USAID, APLU), ecetera and land grant universities to discuss the ongoing projects and most important topics concerning agriculture and education. As of July 2014, there have been 166 BIFAD meetings. The topics since 1975 have included humanitarian relief, agriculture and nutrition, global food prices, sustainability, the Feed the Future Initiative, African higher education, human and institutional capacity development, and many other subjects that revolove around education, agriculture, and domestic or international concerns. [17] [18] [19]
In June 2011, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) launched a new set of programs called the Borlaug 21st Century Leadership Program honouring the legacy of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Norman Borlaug. This initiative is a major new effort to train individuals and strengthening the public and private institutions of developing countries, enabling them to take advantage of scientific and technological breakthroughs to promote innovation across the agricultural sector. BIFAD was asked to help establish one of the programs within the broader Borlaug 21st Century Leadership Program, called the Feed the Future Borlaug Higher Education Agricultural Research and Development Program (BHEARD). [20]
In May 2011, Feed the Future (FtF) held a forum that placed a major emphasis on research, technological development, policies, and a "whole government" approach to ending world hunger. The forum would help Feed the Future identify research opportunities combat global hunger. USAID and USDA partnered with the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and the Board on International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD) to consult on a process for engaging the US and international research communities to respond to the strategy and to identify research opportunities that support Feed the Future's research goals. An initial workshop was held at Purdue University in January 2011 to set the context for the discussion and outline a process. In May 2011 an e-consultation was held, followed by a stakeholder forum, convened in Washington DC in June 2011. This consultative process was designed to allow research stakeholders to further refine research priorities and identify opportunities for new ways of working in order to inform Feed the Future's research implementation efforts. [21]
In July 2007, BIFAD and USAID along with a number of groups based in the United States and Africa came together to consider what could be done to assist in strengthening African higher education’s capacity to educate and solve problems relevant to national and regional development. These meetings resulted in an initiative to strengthen the capacity of African higher education through partnerships between African and U.S. higher education institutions. The principal goal of the initiative was to facilitate deeper and more effective partnerships between African and U.S. institutes of higher education with a focus on contributing more effectively to key priority development areas such as science and technology, agriculture, environment and natural resources, engineering, business, management and economics, health, and education and teacher training. [22]
[23] Jim Simon of Rutgers University was chosen as a winner of the 2012 BIFAD Award for Scientific Excellence. He was chosen for his work in agricultural research and training programs in Sub-Saharan Africa. He created agricultural jobs for women and disabled individuals along with creating new markets for them to access. He has helped decrease food-insecurity for high-risk groups. [24]
Gerardine Mukeshimana of Michigan State University was chosen as a winner of the 2012 BIFAD Award for Scientific Excellence. She was chosen for her work in breeding the common pear to be both drought tolerant and disease resistant in her home country of Rwanda. She has also identified the key components of bean genetic inheritance, including drought-resistant mechanisms, and has developed a fast and cost-effective method for screening these components. Her work has led to increasing crop productivity and a decrease in food insecurity in the region. [25]
[23] Rangaswamy Muniappan of Virginia Tech was chosen as a winner of the 2014 BIFAD Award for Scientific Excellence. He was chosen for his research into a biological control of the papaya mealybug which has brought about economic benefits of between $500 million - $1.3 billion. Dr. Rangaswamy has also been credited with the development of biological controls for the pink hibiscus mealybug, the fruit-piercing moth, the red coconut scale, the banana weevil, and the Asian cycad scale. His research has led to an increase in crop profitability and food security, while also lowering the usage of pesticides protecting both farmers and the surrounding environment. [26]
Kelsey Barale was chosen as a winner of the 2014 BIFAD Award for Scientific Excellence. She was chosen for her work in understanding how agricultural information can best be communicated to farmers, particularly disadvantaged women and smallholder farmers. Her work has led to effective communication about farmer needs and improved and sustainable farming practices, increasing food security in many developing countries. [27]
Elana Peach-Fine was chosen as a winner of the 2014 BIFAD Award for Scientific Excellence. She was chosen for her work in with the Horticulture Collaborative Research Support Program (Horticulture CRSP) along with other work scaling up agricultural practices in developing countries. Her work has helped decease rates of food insecurity.
[23] Dr. Larry L. Murdock of Purdue University was chosen as a winner of the 2015 BIFAD Award for Scientific Excellence. He was chosen for his research into cow pea production and storage which has helped many resource-poor farmers in Africa cut losses of harvest peas to weevils down to virtually zero. His work led to the evolved hermetic three-bag storage technology now in widespread use in Africa which has led to increased grain value, lowered pesticide use, and has created a new micro-credit market using grain as collateral. Overall Dr. Murdork's research has led in the decrease of food insecurity and poverty in the region. [28]
D. Layne Coppock of Utah State University and Dr. Getachew Gebru of MARIL PLC in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, were chosen as winners of the 2015 BIFAD Award for Scientific Excellence. Their team was chosen for their work in Pastoral Risk Management (PARIMA) Project where they focused on ways to diversify income, assets, and improve access to information among primaily female pastoralists through micro-loans. Their research led to an increase in income in communities along with the introduction of women into the workforce. [28]
[23] The team of Micheal Carter, Christopher Barrett, and Andrew Mude were chosen as winners of the 2016 BIFAD Award for Scientific Excellence. They were chosen based on their research on which pioneered new solutions on how to deal with the issues of chronic poverty and food insecurity. Much of the research can be applied to policy and has already been implemented in parts of Kenya and Ethiopia, where it is aiding in decreasing food insecurity and chronic poverty. [29]
Daljit Singh of Kansas State University was chosen as a winner of the 2016 BIFAD Award for Scientific Excellence. He was chosen for his work in applied wheat genomics to develop a heat-tolerant, high-yield, and farmer-accepted varieties for South Asia. This development of new wheat strains will aid in ending food insecurity in the region and will aid in increasing the income of farming communities. [30]
[23] James Beaver of the University of Puerto Rico and Juan Calos Rosas of the Zamorano Panamerican Agricultural University in Honduras were chosen as winners for the 2017 BIFAD Award for Scientific Excellence. They have been recognized for their work in the breeding of disease-resistant, drought-tolerant, and heat-tolerant varieties of common beans. The team has developed more than 60 cultivars with increased yield, quality, and stability throughout Central America., along with 23 bean lines and germplasm resistant to Bean Golden Yellow Mosaic Virus, Bean Common Mosaic Virus, and Bean Common Mosaic Necrosis. Dr. Beaver and Dr. Rosas collaborative research has directly improved the incomes and food security of smallholder farmers across the Central America. [31]
Laouali Amadou of the University of Niger was chosen as a winner of the 2017 BIFAD Award for Scientific Excellence. His work with parasitoids as a way to control pests, mainly the Niger's pearl millet head miner which causes hundreds of millions of dollars in crop damages each year. This innovative solution was chosen due to its usage of naturally occurring parasitoids to control the population of the millet head miner which unlike pesticides is environmentally sustainable and does not negatively impact the farmers that use them. [32]
Dr. Hillary Egna of the Oregon State University was selected as the winner of the 2018 BIFAD Award for Scientific Excellence as a senior researcher. She was recognized for work to address the critical production constraint of feed costs in aquaculture enterprises. The researcher was supported by the Feed the Future AquaFish Innovation Lab. [33]
Mr. Mohammad Mokhlesur Rahman of Kansas State University was chosen as a winner of the 2018 BIFAD Award for Scientific Excellence as a graduate student. He was recognized for his pivotal role in establishing Bangladesh’s largest wheat testing nursery, where over 1,800 candidate lines have been tested. This has helped identify promising heat-tolerant varieties for the country’s wheat farmers. [34] Mr. Rahman's work was supported by the Feed-the-Future Innovation Lab for Applied Wheat Genomics at Kansas State University. [35] He was also a fellow with the Borlaug Higher Education for Agricultural Research and Development (BHEARD) Program, funded by USAID and administered by Michigan State University. [36]
Drs. Yihun Dile, Abeyou Worqlul, and Jean-Claude Bizimana of Texas A&M University were selected for the 2019 BIFAD Award for Scientific Excellence. They have been recognized for their work in developing the Integrated Decision Support System, which is an analytical systems that assesses the production, environmental, economic, and nutritional consequences of the introduction of multiple small-scale irrigation systems in three countries in sub-Saharan Africa. [37] The researchers were supported by the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small-Scale Irrigation [38] at the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture at Texas A&M AgriLife. [39]
Jean Baptiste Ndahetuye was the recipient of the 2019 BIFAD award for Scientific Excellence as a graduate student. Mr. Ndahetuye is a lecturer at the University of Rwanda and is completing a doctoral degree from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Mr. Ndahetuye was recognized for his research on milk production practices and udder health—both of which have impacted milk quality, safety and processability in Rwanda. His work was supported by the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. [40] [41]
According to BIFAD the higher education community is vital to the advancement of agricultural and food security, along with economic and social development, by teaching the next generation of farmers and scientists how to solve problems and overcome challenges related to food security BIFAD and USAID have increased food security in regions that need it the most. BIFAD and USAID have invested $2.8 billion (financial year of 2011 through the financial year of 2016) into higher education globally.
By supporting the global distribution of higher education BIFAD is hoping to increase the global level of food security. USAID and BIFAD have directly invested over $86 million (fiscal year of 2016) into foreign higher education. A total of 50 higher education institutions in 33 counties received the funding: 21 institutions in 11 sub-Saharan African countries, 4 institutions of in 3 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, 9 institutions in 6 Asian countries, 8 institutions in 6 European countries, 2 institutions in Australia, 2 institutions in Central America and Canada, and 4 institutions in South America and the Caribbean.
USAID and BIFAD invested more the $334 million in U.S. institutions of higher education supporting food and agriculture security. An additional $48 million (2016) was given to U.S. institutions of higher education in other grants and contracts.
USAID and BIFAD supported a total of 24 Feed the Future Innovation Labs that used the expertise of 79 different colleges and universities around the country. Feed the Future in cooperation with top U.S. universities and developing countries research and develop solutions to tackle challenges in agriculture, food security, and nutrition where it is needed most. [43]
USAID and BIFAD have a long history of training foreign students at U.S. institutions of higher education. A total of 1,593 degree-seeking individuals were supported (2016) at institutions around the globe: 48% at U.S. institutions of higher education and another 5% were U.S. citizens working with Feed the Future Innovation Labs. Of the 1,593 individuals, the majority sought degrees in agriculture followed by, education, social science, business, science, math, medicine, public health, arts, and humanities (2016).
USAID and BIFAD along with other donors have invested in the strengthening of agricultural education and training to enable partner countries to develop a work force that is responsive to local and regional challenges.
According to BIFAD the world's changing demographics require a greater focus on preparing youth for a productive future, BIFAD and USAID have thus invested in strengthening youth programming and has begun to integrate youth issues into their programs.
USAID and BIFAD have invested over $334 million in higher education in six main categories. Health programming received the largest portion of funding, followed by economic growth, education, governance, program design, and disaster readiness (2016). Health was broken down into 9 sub-categories, HIV and AIDS received the largest portion of health funding followed by family planning and reproductive health, malaria, maternal and child health, water and sanitation, tuberculosis, emerging threats, other public health issues.
Norman Ernest Borlaug was an American agronomist who led initiatives worldwide that contributed to the extensive increases in agricultural production termed the Green Revolution. Borlaug was awarded multiple honors for his work, including the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal, one of only seven people to have received all three awards.
A land-grant university is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890, or a beneficiary under the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994. There are 57 institutions which fall under the 1862 Act, 19 under the 1890 Act, and 35 under the 1994 Act.
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center is a non-profit research-for-development organization that develops improved varieties of wheat and maize with the aim of contributing to food security, and innovates agricultural practices to help boost production, prevent crop disease and improve smallholder farmers' livelihoods. CIMMYT is one of the 15 CGIAR centers. CIMMYT is known for hosting the world's largest maize and wheat genebank at its headquarters in Mexico.
Catherine Bertini is an American public servant. She is the 2003 World Food Prize Laureate. She was the Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Program from 1992 to 2002. She served as the UN Under-Secretary for Management from 2003 to 2005. Currently she is a distinguished fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the Chair of the Board of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and the Chair of the Executive Board of the Crop Trust.
In different administrative and organizational forms, the Food for Peace program of the United States has provided food assistance around the world for more than 60 years. Approximately 3 billion people in 150 countries have benefited directly from U.S. food assistance. The Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance within the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the U.S. Government's largest provider of overseas food assistance. The food assistance programming is funded primarily through the Food for Peace Act. The Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance also receives International Disaster Assistance Funds through the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) that can be used in emergency settings.
Melville Peter McPherson is president emeritus of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. He previously served as a special assistant to President Gerald Ford, administrator of USAID under President Ronald Reagan, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Treasury, President of Michigan State University from 1993 to 2004, and Chairman of Dow Jones.
Science and technology is a growing field in Pakistan and has played an important role in the country's development since its founding. Pakistan has a large pool of scientists, engineers, doctors, and technicians assuming an active role in science and technology. The real growth in science in Pakistan occurred after the establishment of the Higher education Commission in 2002 which supported science in a big way and also became the major sponsor of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences under the leadership of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman. The emphasis was placed on quality rather than numbers during this period. The quality measures introduced by Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman as Founding Chairman HEC included:1) All Ph.D. thesis were evaluated by eminent foreign scientists,2) All PhD theses and research papers were checked for plagiarism 3) Some 11,000 students were sent abroad to leading universities for PhD level training and absorbed on their return, 4) Appointments at faculty positions were linked to international stature of the applicants as judged from their international publications, patents and citations, and (5) Quality Enhancement Cells were established in all universities for the first time in the history of the country. (6) The minimum criteria for establishment of a new university were approved by the Cabinet and universities that did not meet these criteria were closed down. (7) The Model University Ordinance was approved setting the governance parameters for new universities. (8) A list of fake higher education institutions was prepared and made public. (9) Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) was set up within the Higher Education Commission that established Quality Enhancement Cells (QECs) as its operational units in public and private-sector universities across the country. (10) The funding of universities was linked to excellence in teaching and research under a formula based funding mechanism that considered enrolment, subjects and quality of teaching and research. The first IT policy and implementation strategy was approved under the leadership of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman, then Federal Minister of Science & technology, in August 2000 which laid the foundations of the development of this sector On the request of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman, Intel initiated a nationwide programme to train school teachers in Information and Communication technologies in March 2002 which has led to the training of 220,000 school teachers in 70 districts and cities across Pakistan. A 15-year tax holiday was approved on the recommendation of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman which has resulted in growth of IT business from $30 million in 2001 to over $3 billion. The Pakistan Austria University of Applied Engineering (Fachhochschule) has been established in Haripur Hazara under a Steering Committee Chaired by Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman in which students will get degrees from several Austrian universities. Pakistan's growth in scientific output can be seen from the fact that in 1990 Pakistan published 926 scholarly documents while in 2018 the number rose to 20548, a twenty times increase.In contrast India published 21443 scholarly documents in 1990 and the number rose to 171356 in 2018, an eight times increase. In 2018, 336 people per million were researchers in the R&D in Pakistan compared to 256 people per million being researchers in India. The reforms begun by Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS in 2003-2008 have continued over the subsequent decade and according to the Web of Science report, there was a 300% growth in research publications in 2019 over the decade, with 2019 marking the first year in which Pakistan was ranked above the world average in research. In 2019, Pakistan produced 300% more publications indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection than in 2010. In the decade of 2010-2019, more than half of Pakistan’s research was published in journals with Impact Factor. The global influence of Pakistan’s research is increasing as scientists in the country are publishing more in top quartile journals. The Category Normalized Citation Impact of Pakistan’s publications has risen from 0.67 to 1.03. output. As of 2020, Pakistan has 85% teledensity with 183 million cellular, 98 million 3G/4G and 101 million broadband subscribers, due to the foundations laid by Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman of the IT and telecom industry during 2000-2008. In an analysis of scientific research productivity of Pakistan, in comparison to Brazil, Russia, India and China, Thomson Reuters has applauded the developments that have taken place as a result of the reforms introduced by Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS, since Pakistan has emerged as the country with the highest increase in the percentage of highly cited papers in comparison to the "BRIC" countries
The Norman E. Borlaug International Symposium, commonly known as the Borlaug Dialogue, is an annual international symposium tackling the topic of global food security organized by The World Food Prize Foundation. Past symposia have focused on the promises and challenges presented by biofuels for global development, the dual challenges of malnutrition and obesity, water insecurity and its impact on development and stability in the Middle East, and the possibility of replicating the Green Revolution.
Brady J. Deaton, is an American educator and the former chancellor of the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri.
Jo Luck is an American and former CEO of Heifer International. She was recognized with a World Food Prize in 2010.
Patrick Webb serves as Chief Nutritionist for the United States Agency for International Development USAID. He was Dean for Academic Affairs at Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition from 2005 to 2014.
The Feed the Future Initiative (FTF) was launched in 2010 by the United States government and the Obama Administration to address global hunger and food insecurity. According to Feed the Future, it is "the U.S. government's global hunger and food security initiative."
The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) was an extension agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), part of the executive branch of the federal government. The 1994 Department Reorganization Act, passed by Congress, created CSREES by combining the former Cooperative State Research Service and the Extension Service into a single agency.
Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram was an Indian-born Mexican scientist and winner of the 2014 World Food Prize. He was awarded this prize for his scientific research in developing 480 wheat varieties that have been released in 51 countries. This innovation has led to an increase in world wheat production – by more than 200 million tons – building upon the successes of the Green Revolution. The Government of India awarded him India's fourth- and third-highest civilian awards Padma Shri (2001) and Padma Bhushan (2022).
Dmytro Melnychuk – Hero of Ukraine, academician of National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Agrarian Sciences, professor (biochemistry), doctor of biological sciences, honored worker of science of Ukraine, state prize laureate in science and technology of Ukraine, Full Cavalier of Ukraine titles "For Merits", rector of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, professor of the department of biochemistry and the quality and safety of agricultural products NULES of Ukraine, member of the bureau of biochemistry, physiology and medical sciences of Ukraine, member section "Biology" of the state committee of Ukraine on awarding state prizes of Ukraine in science and technology, member of the scientific council of the world confederation of associations of higher agricultural education and life sciences, member of the agrarian party of Ukraine, chairman of the NGO "Council of Ukraine heroes in agriculture ", honored veteran of Kyiv.
Dilbagh Singh Athwal was an Indian-American geneticist, plant breeder and agriculturist, known to have conducted pioneering research in plant breeding. He was a professor and the Head of the Department of Plant Breeding at Punjab Agricultural University and an associate of Norman Borlaug, a renowned biologist and Nobel Laureate, with whom he has collaborated for the introduction of high-yielding dwarf varieties of wheat.
Jean Beagle Ristaino is an American scientist and William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Plant Pathology. She is best known for her work on the epidemiology and population genetics of Oomycete plant pathogens in the genus Phytophthora and her work on the population genomics of historic outbreaks of the Irish famine pathogen, Phytophthora infestans
Alison L. Van Eenennaam is a Cooperative Extension Specialist in the Department of Animal Science at the University of California, Davis and runs the Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Laboratory. She has served on national committees such as the USDA National Advisory Committee on Biotechnology in the 21st Century (AC21) and was awarded the 2014 Borlaug CAST Communication Award. Van Eenennaam writes the Biobeef Blog.
Hari Krishan Jain was an Indian cytogeneticist and plant breeder, known for his contributions to the field of genetic recombination and the control of interchromosome level. He is a former chancellor of the Central Agricultural University, Imphal, a former director of the Indian Agriculture Research Institute and a recipient of honours such as Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award, Borlaug Award and Om Prakash Bhasin Award. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1966, for his contributions to biological sciences. He received the fourth highest Indian civilian honor, the Padma Shri, in 1981.
Rattan Lal is a soil scientist. His work focuses on regenerative agriculture through which soil can help resolve global issues such as climate change, food security and water quality. He is considered a pioneer in soil-centric agricultural management to improve global food security and develop climate-resilient agriculture.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)