19 Jun 2014 2014’s World Food Prize Laureate

Plant scientist Sanjaya Rajaram, born in India and a citizen of Mexico, will be honoured as the 2014 World Food Prize Laureate for his scientific research that led to an increase in world wheat production—by more than 200 million tons—building upon the successes of the Green Revolution.

His breakthrough breeding technologies have had a far-reaching and significant impact in providing more nutritious food around the globe and alleviating world hunger.

Rajaram succeeded Norman Borlaug in leading the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) wheat breeding program, and developed 480 wheat varieties that have been released in 51 countries on six continents.

Rajaram’s crossing of winter and spring wheat varieties, which were distinct gene pools that had been isolated from one another for hundreds of years, led to his development of plants that have higher yields and dependability under a wide range of environments around the world.

Sanjaya Rajaram was born in 1943 near a small farming village in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northeastern India. Rajaram won a state scholarship to attend high school, and from there he went to the College of Jaunpur at the University of Gorakhpur, earning a BS in agriculture in 1962. He next studied genetics and plant breeding under MS Swaminathan at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi, graduating with his Master’s degree in 1964. The following year he went to Australia where he studied for his PhD in plant breeding at the University of Sydney.

Rajaram’s research and field work began at CIMMYT in 1969, as he worked side by side with Borlaug in the experimental fields of El Batán, Toluca, and Ciudad Obrégon. In 1972, Borlaug asked Rajaram to succeed him and head up the wheat breeding team at CIMMYT.

Rajaram significantly advanced his mentor’s work in improving wheat varieties during a period that has been described as the “golden years” of wheat breeding and production.

Grown on more than 58 million hectares worldwide, Rajaram’s high-yielding wheat varieties are disease- and stress-resistant and adaptable to diverse geographical regions and climate conditions. The importance of this work cannot be underscored enough, as wheat is a staple food and a key source of calories and protein for billions of people.

World Food Prize.org: Read more about Rajaram here