Seeds of Empowerment: Bridging Generations to Combat Food Insecurity

The second day of the Borlaug Dialogue brought a range of topics from climate change to gender equity and crop preservation to youth empowerment. 

Opening the main stage, Stefan Schmitz, executive director at Crop Trust, delivered opening remarks about the current state of the agricultural world. He highlights the pressing issues of climate change and the right to agricultural security.

The 2024 World Food Prize Laureates, Dr. Cary Fowler and Dr. Geoffrey Hawtin, engaged in an informational discussion led by renowned food and environmental journalist Daphne Ewing-Chow. Their discussion touched on the work needed to create crops that adapt to the new climate reality. Ewing-Chow inquired about empowering women in agriculture, and Dr. Fowler emphasized the importance of women's contributions to the field.

“If you want to empower women, which I want to do, and you want to address very directly the problem of childhood stunting, which also very much pulls in my heart. Then I think a good way to do that is by empowering the crops that empower the women who feed the children, and that's what we've tried to do,” said Dr. Fowler. 

The 2024 Laureates also participated in a press conference following the discussion on the main stage. To hear more from the Laureates during this week's Borlaug Dialogue, please visit the Foundation YouTube channel, which posts main stage events and side interviews throughout the week.

Lazarus Lynch, chef and author, hosted a live cooking demonstration at the main stage of the Borlaug Dialogue. Sanaa Abourezk, restaurateur at Sanaa’s Gourmet Mediterranean, and Eitan Bernath, chef and author, prepared dishes and discussed how they were recipes that promote sustainability. The renowned chefs took the main stage with two agriculturally sustainable dishes: fattet hummus made by Abourezk and finger millet flatbread with chickpea curry, prepared by Bernath. Their dishes showcase nutritional value and sustainability in the kitchen with Abourezk’s dish featuring leftover bread, tahini and chickpeas, and Bernath’s curry being packed with vegetables. Four Global Youth Institute students were chosen from the audience to taste test the dishes and give their opinion. Sarah Lewis, one of the students selected to sample the two meals, commented that she enjoyed the pomegranate on the fattet hummus and appreciated the complex flavor profile of the curry. 

Today, students not only had the chance to view and participate in the cooking session on the main stage, but heard powerful leaders in their fields, including 2021 World Food Prize Laureate Dr. Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted; former Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee; and Monadle Smith, senior vice president at Agri-Sompo International. After attending main stage events, students participated in immersions around central Iowa.

Dennis Beesigamukama, a postdoctoral fellow at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, was presented The Norman Borlaug Field Award for Field Research and Application, Endowed by The Rockefeller Foundation, this evening. The Borlaug Field Award was presented by Ronnie Coffman, chair of the Borlaug Field Award Jury and International Professor Emeritus at Cornell University, and Jeanie Borlaug Laube, chair of the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative also attended the ceremony. Beesigamukama's work spearheaded the development of novel, low-cost technologies for recycling organic waste into nutrient-rich, disease- and pest-resistant organic fertilizers, addressing agricultural soil degradation challenges for more than 100,000 farmers in East Africa and beyond. He comes from southwestern Uganda and is committed to creating a sustainable future for everyone.

“Receiving the prestigious Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application makes me totally thrilled and grateful. It has refueled my energy in harnessing the immense power of insects, the small creatures with big impact, capable of breathing fresh life into degraded soils and sustainably transforming agriculture for improved food security while ensuring climate resilience and One Health.” said Beesigamukama.

Stay tuned for more from the final day of the Borlaug Dialogue, including tomorrow’s Laureate Award Ceremony! #FoodPrize24