The distinguished agricultural scientist Dr. Norman Borlaug received the United States Congressional Medal of Honor in a ceremony held on July 17, 2007. The highest civilian award in the United States was presented to the 93-year-old Dr. Borlaug in recognition of his life’s work improving crop cultivation and yields. The techniques he developed brought food to millions of people, and he has been attributed with saving more lives than any other person who has ever lived.

After receiving his Ph.D. in 1942, Dr. Borlaug took up an agricultural research position in Mexico. In the face of an imminent food shortage, he developed high-yield, disease-resistant wheat varieties, and promoted production techniques that completely turned the crisis around. In fact, within a few years of his arrival, Mexico became an exporter of wheat for the first time ever. Seeing this success, and faced with their own food crisis, India and Pakistan requested that Dr. Borlaug bring his expertise to their part of the world. His efforts in these countries helped nearly double their wheat production, thus greatly improving food security in these nations. It was from this period that he earned the title “Father of the Green Revolution,” and was subsequently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970.  

Dr. Borlaug studying wheat breeding in Mexico, 1964.

In recognition of Dr. Borlaug’s outstanding agricultural and humanitarian efforts towards peaceful prosperity, ensuring basic needs are met, and enlightened leadership in creating a brighter future for all humanity, Master has awarded Dr. Borlaug the Shining World Leadership Award, which he enthusiastically received. We wish Dr. Borlaug good health, and thank him for his life-long efforts for the betterment of humankind.

Reference:
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN1723204420070717 http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe50s/crops_15.html

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