2011 World Food Prize recipients named

The 2011 World Food Prize will go to two former presidents who led a drastic reduction of hunger and poverty in their countries.

Actions over the past decade by Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brazil and John Agyekum Kufuor in Ghana "set an incredibly powerful example for other political leaders in the world," Kenneth Quinn, president of the food prize, said in announcing the honorees at the U.S. State Department.

President Kufuor and President Lula da Silva were honored for creating and implementing government policies that alleviated hunger and poverty in their countries. “Thanks to their personal commitment and visionary leadership, both Ghana and Brazil are on track to exceed the UN Millennium Development Goal 1 – to cut in half extreme hunger before 2015,” Quinn said. Kufuor and da Silva also were commended in remarks by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. 

The World Food Prize was created in 1987 by Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Norman Borlaug to recognize individuals who have contributed landmark achievements in increasing the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world. Borlaug was an agronomist and Nobel laureate who has been called the “father of the Green Revolution.”

Borlaug received his Ph. D. in plant pathology and genetics from the University of Minnesota in 1942, and his research and introduction of new, high-yield disease-resistant wheat varieties used around the world earned him accolades, and he’s often credited with saving over a billion people worldwide from starvation.

“The battle to end hunger was Dr. Borlaug’s lifelong pursuit, and remains one of the great challenges of our day, requiring both a worldwide commitment to innovation and investment in agriculture, as well as country and local strategies,” said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “Presidents Kufuor and Lula da Silva have advanced food security for their people by pursuing innovative policies and programs, and their leadership and work stand as a model to all nations working to meet the moral imperative of feeding the world.”

Under President Kufuor's leadership, Ghana became the first sub-Saharan African country to cut in half the proportion of its people who suffer from hunger, and the proportion of people living on less than a dollar per day, on course to meet UN Millenium Development Goal 1. Continuing Ghana's tradition of stability, President Kufuor prioritized national agricultural policies: Ghana saw a reduction in its poverty rate from 51.7 percent in 1991 to 26.5 percent in 2008, and hunger was reduced from 34 percent in 1990 down to 9 percent in 2004.

In Brazil, President Lula da Silva made it clear, even before he took office as president in 2003, that fighting hunger and poverty would be a top priority of his government. More than 10 government ministries were focused on the expansive Zero Hunger programs, which provided greater access to food, strengthened family farms and rural incomes, increased enrollment of primary school children, and empowered the poor. Over the eight years of his administration, President Lula da Silva's commitment and vision achieved dramatic reductions in hunger, extreme poverty and social exclusion, thereby greatly enhancing the lives of Brazil's people. During his tenure, UN Millennium Development Goal 1 was exceeded as Brazil reduced by half its proportion of hungry people, with 93 percent of children and 82 percent of adults eating three meals a day, and also reduced the percentage of Brazilians living in extreme poverty from 12 percent in 2003 down to 4.8 percent in 2009. 

President Kufuor and President Lula da Silva will receive The World Food Prize in Des Moines, IA, Oct. 12-14 at the 2011 Borlaug Dialog international symposium. The symposium's theme, "The Next Generation: Confronting the Hunger Challenges of Tomorrow," will examine how to feed a global population of 9 billion by 2050 despite agricultural, environmental and geopolitical challenges. For more information, see www.worldfoodprize.org.