At a time when the global economic crisis dominates the news, the world needs to be reminded that not everyone works in offices and factories. The crisis is stalking the small-scale farms and rural areas of the world, where 70 percent of the world’s hungry live and work.

With an estimated increase of 105 million hungry people in 2009, there are now 1.02 billion malnourished people in the world, meaning that almost one sixth of all humanity is suffering from hunger. Both public and private investments are needed, more specifically through targeted public investment to encourage and facilitate private investment, especially by farmers themselves.

On the occasion of World Food Week and World Food Day 2009, let us reflect on those numbers and the human suffering behind them. Crisis or no crisis, we have the know-how to do something about hunger. We also have the ability to find money to solve problems when we consider them important. Let us work together to make sure hunger is recognized as a critical problem, and solve it.

Sustainability goes beyond maintaining environmentally conscientious agriculture, it also involves passing knowledge on to future leaders so information is not lost. CIMMYT is dedicated to both types of sustainability, which was demonstrated on 11 September 2009 when El Batán welcomed 280 Mexican university students to its campus.

The program, “Open Doors,” has been held annually for three years. This year it included students from 13 institutions of higher learning. Scott Ferguson, deputy director general for support services, welcomed the group and emphasized the importance of their visit by pointing out that the students may only be visitors now, but they could be part of the CIMMYT family in the future.

The rest of the day included thorough and engaging presentations from national staff on CIMMYT’s global food security efforts. The students learned about the application of geographic information systems (GIS) for breeders and the use of genetic materials. They visited the germplasm bank, the applied biotechnology center (ABC), and wheat quality labs; they also ventured into the fields to observe maize, wheat, and conservation agriculture plots.

Thanks to all who helped make this event a success.

Eight students from the University Catholic of Louvain (UCL), Belgium, who are working on their Master’s degrees, visited CIMMYT 22 and 29 September as part of a traveling seminar on integrated plant production.

“Thanks to CIMMYT’s head of wheat pathology, Dr. Etienne Duveiller, our group had a real hands-on experience with field trials related to disease resistance and we now understand how pathology is part of the breeding process,” said Claude Bragard, UCL professor.

The students participated in discussions with Mexican farmers and CIMMYT staff, particularly about conservation agriculture. They also saw first-hand how science-based knowledge and the dissemination of adapted technologies can make agriculture more profitable and help improve farmer livelihoods.

“This was the discovery of a new country, another culture, and of agriculture diversity in various environments,” Bragard said. “This great experience will be remembered for a long time and has already triggered new interests and inquires.”

Former CIMMYT research director Clive James was in Mexico to give the presentation “Agricultural Biotechnology Facing the Challenges of the Food Crisis and Global Warming” on 8 September 2009 at the Hotel Marquís Reforma in Mexico City. Approximately 80 people attended, including many journalists. Kevin Pixley, associate director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program, was invited as a special commentator on the presentation, along with Dr. José Luis Solleira, researcher at Mexico’s Autonomous National University (UNAM). Among other things, James said that transgenic crops were being grown on 125 million hectares in 25 countries during 2008—a nearly 10% increase in area over the previous year.

James is founder and director of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), a not-for-profit international organization that gathers and shares information about the use and impacts of biotechnology in agriculture. In his comments, Pixley pointed out the need for technologies to address climate change and the food needs of a rapidly growing world population. He also showed a figure outlining historic gains in maize yield potential through the use of improved varieties, hybrids, and biotechnology.

Alpha Diallo, a former CIMMYT maize breeder, was honored at a maize fair held in Embu on 4 September 2009. Diallo worked with CIMMYT for a total of 25 years, 11 of which were spent at CIMMYT-Kenya, before his retirement at the end of 2008. Organized by the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), and held at the KARI-Embu Research Center, the event included a tour of the CIMMYT/KARI maize breeding trials and nurseries, followed by a tree-planting session. During the field tour, guests visited the maize streak virus (MSV) screen house, as well as the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) and Insect Resistant Maize for Africa (IRMA) project maize trials.

KARI’s director, Dr. Ephraim Mukisira, officiated at the maize fair. Other KARI staff present included the deputy director, center directors, and scientists from various KARI stations across the country. Also in attendance were provincial agricultural officers from Eastern and Central provinces, KARI-Embu staff, and farmers from the Embu region. At the function, Diallo was recognized for his contribution to maize improvement and capacity building in Kenya, and for his mentorship of KARI maize breeders. Diallo had developed several maize varieties suitable for the wet and dry mid-altitudes of Kenya, which have been released by KARIand are currently marketed by seed companies. In addition, he helped to establish managed-stress-screening sites and improve infrastructure at KARI stations.

As part of his recognition, Diallo was bestowed the name ‘Murimi,’ which means ‘a highly accomplished farmer.’ During the naming ceremony, he was presented with a special headdress, typically reserved for elders and important personalities in the community. Along with this he also received an armload of gifts, including a copy of the Koran, an African elder’s stool, a flywhisk, a plaque, and a KARI commemorative clock. Among the Mount Kenya communities where this event was held, the flywhisk is a symbol of importance and given to those of high standing in the society.

At hand to congratulate their former colleague were CIMMYT scientists, Dan Makumbi, Yoseph Beyene, and Tadele Tefera as well as CIMMYT research technician Joseph Kasango, who worked closely with Diallo for about nine years. Diallo, a national of Guinea, thanked KARI for the excellent collaboration he had with them during his time at CIMMYT-Kenya, saying it significantly contributed to his professional success.

On Friday 18 September 2009, under the pines that Dr. Norman Borlaug had planted at El Batán many years before, CIMMYT-Mexico staff and many friends gathered to honor and commemorate both Borlaug’s extraordinary life and work in a simple and touching ceremony. Among other things, it was clear that Borlaug’s influence had reached far beyond CIMMYT. Chris Dowswell, Borlaug’s aide-de camp for three decades, described the scholarship fund Norm had started for young scientists, and Colegio de Postgraduados professor Dr. Arturo Hernández recalled how he was able to obtain an education thanks to support from Borlaug. Former CIMMYT wheat breeder and director Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram, who began as a postdoctoral fellow with Borlaug, mentioned Norm’s strong focus on fieldwork but full mastery of science. Dr. José Guevara Calderón, a Mexican researcher who worked with Borlaug when he first arrived in Mexico, spoke of their experiences together and Gregorio Martínez, who for many years was in charge of institutional relations for CIMMYT in Mexico, talked of Borlaug’s charisma and influence.

A distinctive surprise was the arrival of a note reporting a special accord and moment of silence in the Mexican Senate to honor this researcher who had made Mexico his second home. A recorded message from DG Thomas Lumpkin, traveling in Zimbabwe at the time, was played, and Hans Braun gave heartfelt address. The ceremony closed with participants placing dirt and flowers around a dwarf pine planted in memory of Borlaug. Scott Ferguson, deputy director general for Support Services, spoke of how Borlaug had challenged the status quo and the supposed limits of possibility, confounding the predictions of doomsayers and saving hundreds of millions of lives. “…we do [Borlaug] a disservice to deify him, to treat him as out of touch, living in the ether of the immortals,” said Ferguson. “…as a natural teacher, he would have wanted each one of us to recognize that we could do what he did, that with passion and toughness almost anything is possible.”

(Given in El Batán, Mexico, on 15 September 2009.)

Today we come together to celebrate the 199th anniversary of Mexico’s independence but it is also the saddest moment in the history of CIMMYT, since we are mourning Dr. Borlaug. I am sure, if we could ask him, Dr. Borlaug would insist that we celebrate “El Grito” today. He knew the importance of this tradition, for he not only lived 62 years in Mexico, he loved Mexico, the Mexican people, and Ciudad Obregon, which he considered home.

Dr. Borlaug influenced the thinking of thousands of agricultural scientists. He was the most influential breeder ever and, equally important, his stature enabled him to influence politicians and leaders around the world. His legacy and his work ethic––to get things done and not mind getting your hands dirty––are the basis of Borlaug’s philosophy, which influenced us all and remains CIMMYT’s guiding principle today. He was a giant, a global leader in agriculture, a visionary and, at the same time, very down to earth. In Germany we have the word “Uebervater”––father above all fathers––which best describes what he meant to us and to millions of people.

Over the years, thousands of trainees sweated side by side with Dr. Borlaug in the field. Irrespective of their cultural background, they were infected with the Borlaug bacillus to work together to help others. This core of young scientists became his troops in fighting hunger. Many later became leaders in their own countries, where they implemented Norm’s life philosophy: Don’t be afraid, do your best, never give up, and you will succeed. Training young people was always at the center of his heart. The last time I saw him in Obregon in March, he specifically mentioned that CIMMYT should start in-service training again. Norm, we take this as an order.

Yes, he was a giant, but people at CIMMYT who worked with him will remember Norm as a caring and engaging person. When I was a young man working in Turkey, he called me into his office and asked me how zinc research was progressing. I had just started explaining when he had to leave unexpectedly. One year later, we met again, and he immediately said, “Well, Hans, last year you didn’t tell me the zinc story, so tell me now!” How could he have remembered after one year?

But my most memorable meeting with Norm was in 2005, at the 7th IWC, when I just had been appointed Wheat Program Director. After the conference dinner, at 11:30 pm, he asked me to come to his room, where we talked until 2:30 in the morning. He gave me a lot of advice, some very personal. But two things I can share. One: never, ever, hurt people’s dignity and pride, and never be arrogant. And the other: he said, “I’ll help you!” And help he did. Without his advice, I’m not sure what the Wheat Program would look like today, but for sure not as strong as it is now.

This is how Dr. Borlaug led his life. His generosity affected millions. We will greatly miss his intellectual inspiration, his leadership, and his support. The world has lost one of the greatest human beings ever, and all who knew him should be immensely grateful.

When he talked to Art Klatt and Bill Raun about nitrogen sensor technology, Dr. Borlaug’s parting words were: “Take it to the farmers.” I think these words best summarize what Dr. Borlaug stood for. Farmers––poor farmers and their families––were always in his thoughts. And I promise this was, is, and will remain CIMMYT’s ultimate goal. If we fail in this, we fail in everything we do, and we will not pay Norman Borlaug the tribute he deserves.