The Green Revolution, also known as the Third Agricultural Revolution, was a period of technology transfer initiatives that saw greatly increased crop yields and agricultural production. These changes in agriculture began in developed countries after World War II and spread globally till the late 1980s. In the late 1960s, farmers began incorporating new technologies such as high-yielding varieties of cereals, particularly dwarf wheat and rice, and the widespread use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and controlled irrigation.
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.
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.
Kitale is an agricultural town in northern Rift Valley Kenya situated between Mount Elgon and the Cherangany Hills at an elevation of around 1,900 metres (6,200 ft). Its population is 106,187 as of 2009. Kitale is the headquarter town of Trans-Nzoia County. Kitale is reachable by air through Kitale Airport. The postal code for Kitale is 30200.
Trans-Nzoia County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province, Kenya, located between the Nzoia River and Mount Elgon, 380 km northwest of Nairobi. At its centre is the town of Kitale which is the capital and largest town. The county borders Bungoma to the west, Uasin Gishu and Kakamega to the south, Elgeyo-Marakwet to the east, West Pokot to the north and the republic of Uganda to the Northwest. Trans Nzoia covers an area of 2495.5 square kilometres.
Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan is an Indian agronomist, agricultural scientist, plant geneticist, administrator and humanitarian. Swaminathan is a global leader of the green revolution. He has been called the main architect of the green revolution in India for his leadership and role in introducing and further developing high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice. Swaminathan's collaborative scientific efforts with Norman Borlaug, spearheading a mass movement with farmers and other scientists and backed by public policies, saved India and Pakistan from certain famine-like conditions in the 1960s. His leadership as Director General of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines was instrumental in his being awarded the first World Food Prize in 1987, recognized as the Nobel or the highest honours in the field of agriculture. United Nations Environment Programme has called him 'the Father of Economic Ecology'.
Bungoma is the county town of Bungoma County in Kenya. It was established as a trading centre in the early 20th century. It is located in Kenya's fertile Western region and at the foot of Mount Elgon, Kenya's second tallest mountain. The town and the surrounding areas boast of one of Kenya's highest average rainfall, making it one of the nation's most important food baskets.
Pedro Sanchez is the director of the Agriculture & Food Security Center, senior research scholar, and director of the Millennium Villages Project at the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Sanchez was director general of the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya from 1991-2001, and served as co-chair of the UN Millennium Project Hunger Task Force. He is also professor emeritus of soil science and forestry at North Carolina State University, and was a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
Henry Pius Masinde Muliro was a Kenyan politician from the Bukusu sub-tribe of the larger Abaluhya people of western Kenya. He was one of the central figures in the shaping of the political landscape in Kenya. A renowned anti-colonial activist, he campaigned for the restoration of multi-party democracy in Kenya in his later years. He was a ruthless negotiator and a proponent of peaceful but focused politics. He had a reputation for integrity rivaled only by Ngala. He was considered by some as one of the best leaders that never became president, it has been speculated that had he not died, he may have beaten Moi for the presidency in 1992.
Michael Christopher Kijana Wamalwa was a renowned Kenyan politician who at the time of his death was serving as the eighth Vice-President of Kenya.
Bungoma County is a county in the former Western Province of Kenya. Its capital is Bungoma town. It has a population of 1,670,570 of which 812,146 are males 858,389 females as per the 2019 census and an area of 2,069 km2. It has nine constituencies, namely: Bumula, Kabuchai, Kanduyi, Kimilili, Mt. Elgon, Sirisia, Tongaren, Webuye East and Webuye West.
Florence Muringi Wambugu is a Kenyan plant pathologist and virologist. She is known for her advocacy of using biotechnology to increase food production in Africa.
Agriculture in Kenya dominates Kenya's economy. 15–17 percent of Kenya's total land area has sufficient fertility and rainfall to be farmed, and 7–8 percent can be classified as first-class land. In 2006, almost 75 percent of working Kenyans made their living by farming, compared with 80 percent in 1980. About one-half of Kenya's total agricultural output is non-marketed subsistence production.
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.
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) is a public university that is situated in Juja, 36 kilometres northeast of Nairobi, along the Nairobi-Thika SuperHighway, off Exit 15. It offers courses in Technology, Engineering, Science, Commerce, Management and Building sciences. The university has a strong research interest in the areas of biotechnology and engineering. Notable alumni include Dr. Paul Chepkwony, the first Governor of Kericho County in Kenya and a former lecturer, Emma Miloyo, a prominent Kenyan architect and the first female President of the Architectural Association of Kenya, as well as Aden Duale, the former Leader of Majority in the 11th Kenyan Parliament among others.
Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) is an organisation that seeks to transform African agriculture from a subsistence model to strong businesses that improve the livelihoods of the continent’s farming households.
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 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. BIFAD consists of seven board members appointed by the White House, four of which must come from the US Academic community. The board's mission is to draw on higher education's expertise and scientific knowledge to advise the U.S. international assistance efforts along with domestic efforts to end food insecurity.
Mavis Owureku-Asare is a Ghanaian food scientist. She researched the use of solar dehydration to preserve tomatoes. She conducted research showing that poor quality foods were sold in some Ghanaian markets. She is a senior research scientist at the Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission. She is a fellow of the Norman E. Borlaug Leadership Enhancement in Agriculture Program (LEAP) and a recipient of the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD).
Ruth Khasaya Oniang’o is a Kenyan Professor of Nutrition and a former member of Parliament. She created Rural Outreach Africa to empower smallholders to address malnutrition, she oversees her country's nutrition policy and she is on the board of the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International.
