Climate change statement
Food Security and Climate Change: A Call for Commitment and Preparation
See Signatories
See Press Release
Leaders from all over the world will meet shortly in Copenhagen for the UN Climate Change Conference. We call on them, as they seek agreement on a global response to the challenges of climate change, to recognize and address the specific threat that it poses to the worlds food security.
The negative impact of climate change on agriculture, and thus on the production of food, could well place at risk all other efforts to mitigate and adapt to new climate conditions. The magnitude of change now being forecast, even in relatively optimistic scenarios, is historically unprecedented, and our agricultural systems are still largely unprepared to face it.
Farmers will encounter problems they have never before experienced: much greater weather variability, higher average temperatures, increased numbers of extremely hot days, shorter growing seasons, much greater moisture stress, added salinity from salt water incursion and irrigation systems, and new combinations of pests and diseases.
Getting agriculture ready for such dramatically new growing environments is not a trivial matter. No one should assume that success is guaranteed. For agriculture to adapt, crops must adapt, but there is no climate change gene, no single characteristic, that can ensure that they will retain, much less increase, their productivity in new climates. Concerted adaptation efforts will be required crop-by-crop, country-by-country and internationally.
Crop diversity is the raw material for crop adaptation. This diversity, primarily found today in seedbanks, contains the traits that plant breeders and farmers will need to incorporate into tomorrows resilient, climate-ready crop varieties. Agricultureand peoplecannot do without it.
Current institutional and financial arrangements, however, are inadequate to guarantee conservation of this priceless resource. Indeed, diversity is being lost diversity that almost certainly holds the key to future crop adaptation. Moreover, the time required to integrate new traits into crop varieties can be a decade or more. We cannot wait for disaster before initiating action.
Fortunately, ensuring the availability of crop diversity is entirely feasible technically, financially and politically. Small investments made now will soon generate enormous and recurring benefits even if climate change is far less pronounced than is now widely anticipated.
No credible or effective agreement to address the challenges of climate change can ignore agriculture and the need for crop adaptation to ensure the worlds future food supplies. We urge countries at the Copenhagen Conference to give due attention to crop diversity conservation and use as an essential element of the commitments they will make for climate change adaptation.
Food Security and Climate Change Statement
[English] [Français] [Italiano] [Español]
Press Release on Food Security and Climate Change Statement
[English] [Français] [ Italiano] [Español]
Signatories of Statement
Signatories have signed in an individual capacity; affiliations have been reduced and are for identification purposes only.
Mark Alley, USA
President of the American Society for Agronomy
Professor of Agriculture, Virginia Tech University
Per Pinstrup Andersen, Denmark
World Food Prize Laureate, 2001
Former Director-General of International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
Pamela Anderson, USA
Director General, International Potato Center (CIP)
Former Senior Entomologist at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
David Battisti, USA
Former co-Chair of the Science Steering Committee for the U.S. Program on Climate (US CLIVAR)
Professor of Atmospheric Sciences University of Washington
Bernard Le Buanec, France
Former Secretary General of the International Seed Federation
Member of the French Academy of Agriculture
Teresita Borromeo, Philippines
Chair of the Rice Technical Working Group of the National Seed Industry Council
Professor, Crop Science Cluster, University of Philippines, Los Baρos
Marcel Bruins, Netherlands
Secretary General, International Seed Federation
Former Manager of Plant Variety Protection, Seminis Vegetable Seeds
Maggie Catley-Carlson, Canada
Former President of Canadian International Development Agency
Member of the United Nations Secretary General Advisory Board on Water
Colin Chartres, Australia/Britain
Director General, International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
Former Chief Science Advisor to Australias National Water Commission
Bob Clements, Australia
Former Executive Director, Crawford Fund for International Agricultural Research
Former Chief of Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Division of Tropical Crops and Pastures
Lew Coleman, USA
Founding President of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Former Chairman Bank of America Securities
Sir Peter Crane, United Kingdom
Former Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Dean, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University
William Dar, Philippines
Director General, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)
Former Secretary of Agriculture (Philippines)
Jorio Dauster, Brazil
Board Chairman of Brasil Ecodiesel
Former Ambassador of Brazil to the European Union
Keith Downey, Canada
Research Scientist Emeritus and Adjunct Professor of Crop Science, Agri-Food Canada
Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame, 2002
Ruben Echeverrνa, Uruguay
Director General, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
Former Executive Director, Science Council of the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
Gebisa Ejeta, Ethiopia
World Food Prize Laureate, 2009
Distinguished Professor of Agronomy, Purdue University
Adel El-Baltegy, Egypt
Chair of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR)
Former Director General of the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA)
Walter Falcon, USA
Professor Emeritus of International Agricultural Policy, Stanford University
Former Member of the Presidential Commission on World Hunger
Cary Fowler, USA
Executive Director, Global Crop Diversity Trust
Former Head of Secretariat, International Conference and Programme for Plant Genetic Resources of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
Emile Frison, Belgium
Director General, Bioversity International
Former Director, International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain
Walter Fust, Switzerland
CEO/ Director General of the Global Humanitarian Forum in Geneva
Former Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
Amy Goldman, USA
Board Chair, Seed Savers Exchange
Board Member, New York Botanical Garden
Hartwig de Haen, Germany
Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, University of Gφttingen
Former Assistant Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
Hartmann, USA
Director General, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
Former Professor and Director of International Programs, University of Florida
Geoff Hawtin, United Kingdom
Former Director General of the International Plant Genetics Resource Institute (IPGRI)
Former Director General of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
Vernon Heywood, United Kingdom
Emeritus Professor in the School of Plant Sciences at the University of Reading
Former Director of Botanic Gardens Conservation International
Cosima Hufler, Austria
Chair of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
Senior Advisor, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management and International Environmental Affairs, Austria
Masaru Iwanaga, Japan
Director General, National Institute of Crop Science, Japan
Former Director General of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
Gurdev Khush, India
World Food Prize Laureate, 1996
Former Head, Division of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Biotechnology, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
Kay Killingsworth, USA
Former Secretary-General, World Food Summit
Former Assistant Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
Norman Looney, Canada
Chair, Global Horticulture Initiative
President, International Society for Horticultural Science
John Lovett, Australia
Chair, Cooperative Research Centre for National Plant Biosecurity
President, Australian Agronomy Society
Frank Loy, USA
Former Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs
Former Chair of the Conference of Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
Thomas Lumpkin, USA
Director General of International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
Former Director General of the World Vegetable Center (AVRDC)
Wangari Maathai, Kenya
Nobel Peace Prize, 2004
Former Assistant Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Kenya
Chebet Maikut, Uganda
Vice-President of the Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF)
Former MP (Uganda)
Nigel Maxted
Senior Lecturer, Plant Genetic Conservatio, University of Birmingham
co-chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) working group on Crop Wild Relative Specialist Group
Gian Tommaso Scarascia Mugnozza, Italy
President, Italian National Academy of Sciences
Cavaliere di Gran Croce Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana
Paul Munyenyembe, Malawi
Head, Plant Genetic Resources Centre (SPGRC), South African Development Community
Head of Department, Bunda Collge, University of Malawi
Zachary Kithinji Muthamia, Kenya
Head, National Genebank of Kenya
Godfrey Mwila, Zambia
Former Chair of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
Former Head, National Genebank, Zambia
Rosamond Naylor, USA
Director, Programme on Food Security and the Environment, Stanford University
Professor, Environmental Earth Science, Stanford University
Karl Erik Olsson, Sweden
Former Minister of Agriculture (Sweden)
Former MP (Sweden) and MEP
Jim Peacock, Australia
Former Chief Scientist, Australia
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Lifetime Achievement Award, 2005
Enrico Porceddu, Italy
Member, Italian National Academy of Sciences
Professor of Agriculture and Genetics, University of Tuscia, Viterbo
Sir Ghillean Prance, United Kingdom
Former Director, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Fellow, Royal Society
Calvin Qualset, USA
Former President American Society of Agronomy
Former Director of the Genetic Resources Conservation Program at University of California, Davis
Kenneth Quesenberry, USA
President, Crop Science Society of America (CSSA)
Professor, Forage Breeding and Genetics Department of Agronomy, University of Florida
Rudy Rabbinge, Netherlands
Chair, Science Council of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
Senator, National Parliament of the Netherlands
Peter Raven, USA
President and Director, Missouri Botanical Gardens
U.S. National Medal of Science, 2000
Roberto Rodrigues, Brazil
Former Minister of Agriculture (Brazil)
Former Chair of the World Committee on Agricultural Cooperatives
Pedro Sanchez, Cuba/ USA
World Food Prize Laureate, 2002
Director of Tropical Agriculture at the Earth Institute, Columbia University
Rajaram Sanjay, India
Former Director, Wheat Program, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
Recipient of Chinese Friendship Award
Papa Seck, Senegal
Director General, Africa Rice Center (WARDA)
Former Chair of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)
Carlos Serι, Uruguay
Director General, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
Former Regional Director International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
Henry Shands, USA
Former Director of the USDA-Agriculture Research Service (ARS) National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation
President of the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST)
Emmy Simmons, USA
Former Assistant Administrator for Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade (EGAT) at USAID
Co-Chair, Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability of the National Academies
Paul Smith, United Kingdom
Head, Millennium Seed Bank, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
International Editor, Oryx Journal
Mahmoud Solh, Lebanon
Director General, International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA)
Former Director, Plant Production and Protection Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
Aleki Sisifa, Tonga
Director, Land Resources Division, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)
Former Deputy Director of Agriculture and Forestry, Tonga
M.S. Swaminathan, India
First World Food Prize Laureate, 1987
Former Minister of Agriculture, India
Peter M.A. Tigerstedt, Finland
Former Member, Technical Advisory Committee to the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
Professor Emeritus, University of Helsinki
Bert Visser, Netherlands
Director, Centre for Genetic Resources the Netherlands (CGN)
Former Chair of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA)
Joachim von Braun, Germany
Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
Former Professor of Food Economics and Policy at Kiel University, Germany
Ren Wang, China
Director, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
Former Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS)
David Williams, USA
Coordinator of the CGIAR System-wide Genetic Resources Program
Former International Affairs Specialist, Foreign Agricultural Service, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Andrew Westby, United Kingdom
President, International Society for Tropical Root Crops
Director of Research, Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich
Mohamed Zehni, Libya
Former Director, Plant Production and Protection Division, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
Former Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Libya to the United Nations Organizations
Robert Zeigler, USA
Director General, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
Time Magazine Global Innovator Award, 2007
See Press Release
Leaders from all over the world will meet shortly in Copenhagen for the UN Climate Change Conference. We call on them, as they seek agreement on a global response to the challenges of climate change, to recognize and address the specific threat that it poses to the worlds food security.
The negative impact of climate change on agriculture, and thus on the production of food, could well place at risk all other efforts to mitigate and adapt to new climate conditions. The magnitude of change now being forecast, even in relatively optimistic scenarios, is historically unprecedented, and our agricultural systems are still largely unprepared to face it.
Farmers will encounter problems they have never before experienced: much greater weather variability, higher average temperatures, increased numbers of extremely hot days, shorter growing seasons, much greater moisture stress, added salinity from salt water incursion and irrigation systems, and new combinations of pests and diseases.
Getting agriculture ready for such dramatically new growing environments is not a trivial matter. No one should assume that success is guaranteed. For agriculture to adapt, crops must adapt, but there is no climate change gene, no single characteristic, that can ensure that they will retain, much less increase, their productivity in new climates. Concerted adaptation efforts will be required crop-by-crop, country-by-country and internationally.
Crop diversity is the raw material for crop adaptation. This diversity, primarily found today in seedbanks, contains the traits that plant breeders and farmers will need to incorporate into tomorrows resilient, climate-ready crop varieties. Agricultureand peoplecannot do without it.
Current institutional and financial arrangements, however, are inadequate to guarantee conservation of this priceless resource. Indeed, diversity is being lost diversity that almost certainly holds the key to future crop adaptation. Moreover, the time required to integrate new traits into crop varieties can be a decade or more. We cannot wait for disaster before initiating action.
Fortunately, ensuring the availability of crop diversity is entirely feasible technically, financially and politically. Small investments made now will soon generate enormous and recurring benefits even if climate change is far less pronounced than is now widely anticipated.
No credible or effective agreement to address the challenges of climate change can ignore agriculture and the need for crop adaptation to ensure the worlds future food supplies. We urge countries at the Copenhagen Conference to give due attention to crop diversity conservation and use as an essential element of the commitments they will make for climate change adaptation.
Food Security and Climate Change Statement
[English] [Français] [Italiano] [Español]
Press Release on Food Security and Climate Change Statement
[English] [Français] [ Italiano] [Español]
Signatories of Statement
Signatories have signed in an individual capacity; affiliations have been reduced and are for identification purposes only.
Mark Alley, USA
President of the American Society for Agronomy
Professor of Agriculture, Virginia Tech University
Per Pinstrup Andersen, Denmark
World Food Prize Laureate, 2001
Former Director-General of International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
Pamela Anderson, USA
Director General, International Potato Center (CIP)
Former Senior Entomologist at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
David Battisti, USA
Former co-Chair of the Science Steering Committee for the U.S. Program on Climate (US CLIVAR)
Professor of Atmospheric Sciences University of Washington
Bernard Le Buanec, France
Former Secretary General of the International Seed Federation
Member of the French Academy of Agriculture
Teresita Borromeo, Philippines
Chair of the Rice Technical Working Group of the National Seed Industry Council
Professor, Crop Science Cluster, University of Philippines, Los Baρos
Marcel Bruins, Netherlands
Secretary General, International Seed Federation
Former Manager of Plant Variety Protection, Seminis Vegetable Seeds
Maggie Catley-Carlson, Canada
Former President of Canadian International Development Agency
Member of the United Nations Secretary General Advisory Board on Water
Colin Chartres, Australia/Britain
Director General, International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
Former Chief Science Advisor to Australias National Water Commission
Bob Clements, Australia
Former Executive Director, Crawford Fund for International Agricultural Research
Former Chief of Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Division of Tropical Crops and Pastures
Lew Coleman, USA
Founding President of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Former Chairman Bank of America Securities
Sir Peter Crane, United Kingdom
Former Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Dean, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University
William Dar, Philippines
Director General, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)
Former Secretary of Agriculture (Philippines)
Jorio Dauster, Brazil
Board Chairman of Brasil Ecodiesel
Former Ambassador of Brazil to the European Union
Keith Downey, Canada
Research Scientist Emeritus and Adjunct Professor of Crop Science, Agri-Food Canada
Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame, 2002
Ruben Echeverrνa, Uruguay
Director General, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
Former Executive Director, Science Council of the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
Gebisa Ejeta, Ethiopia
World Food Prize Laureate, 2009
Distinguished Professor of Agronomy, Purdue University
Adel El-Baltegy, Egypt
Chair of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR)
Former Director General of the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA)
Walter Falcon, USA
Professor Emeritus of International Agricultural Policy, Stanford University
Former Member of the Presidential Commission on World Hunger
Cary Fowler, USA
Executive Director, Global Crop Diversity Trust
Former Head of Secretariat, International Conference and Programme for Plant Genetic Resources of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
Emile Frison, Belgium
Director General, Bioversity International
Former Director, International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain
Walter Fust, Switzerland
CEO/ Director General of the Global Humanitarian Forum in Geneva
Former Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
Amy Goldman, USA
Board Chair, Seed Savers Exchange
Board Member, New York Botanical Garden
Hartwig de Haen, Germany
Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, University of Gφttingen
Former Assistant Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
Hartmann, USA
Director General, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
Former Professor and Director of International Programs, University of Florida
Geoff Hawtin, United Kingdom
Former Director General of the International Plant Genetics Resource Institute (IPGRI)
Former Director General of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
Vernon Heywood, United Kingdom
Emeritus Professor in the School of Plant Sciences at the University of Reading
Former Director of Botanic Gardens Conservation International
Cosima Hufler, Austria
Chair of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
Senior Advisor, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management and International Environmental Affairs, Austria
Masaru Iwanaga, Japan
Director General, National Institute of Crop Science, Japan
Former Director General of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
Gurdev Khush, India
World Food Prize Laureate, 1996
Former Head, Division of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Biotechnology, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
Kay Killingsworth, USA
Former Secretary-General, World Food Summit
Former Assistant Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
Norman Looney, Canada
Chair, Global Horticulture Initiative
President, International Society for Horticultural Science
John Lovett, Australia
Chair, Cooperative Research Centre for National Plant Biosecurity
President, Australian Agronomy Society
Frank Loy, USA
Former Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs
Former Chair of the Conference of Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
Thomas Lumpkin, USA
Director General of International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
Former Director General of the World Vegetable Center (AVRDC)
Wangari Maathai, Kenya
Nobel Peace Prize, 2004
Former Assistant Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Kenya
Chebet Maikut, Uganda
Vice-President of the Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF)
Former MP (Uganda)
Nigel Maxted
Senior Lecturer, Plant Genetic Conservatio, University of Birmingham
co-chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) working group on Crop Wild Relative Specialist Group
Gian Tommaso Scarascia Mugnozza, Italy
President, Italian National Academy of Sciences
Cavaliere di Gran Croce Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana
Paul Munyenyembe, Malawi
Head, Plant Genetic Resources Centre (SPGRC), South African Development Community
Head of Department, Bunda Collge, University of Malawi
Zachary Kithinji Muthamia, Kenya
Head, National Genebank of Kenya
Godfrey Mwila, Zambia
Former Chair of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
Former Head, National Genebank, Zambia
Rosamond Naylor, USA
Director, Programme on Food Security and the Environment, Stanford University
Professor, Environmental Earth Science, Stanford University
Karl Erik Olsson, Sweden
Former Minister of Agriculture (Sweden)
Former MP (Sweden) and MEP
Jim Peacock, Australia
Former Chief Scientist, Australia
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Lifetime Achievement Award, 2005
Enrico Porceddu, Italy
Member, Italian National Academy of Sciences
Professor of Agriculture and Genetics, University of Tuscia, Viterbo
Sir Ghillean Prance, United Kingdom
Former Director, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Fellow, Royal Society
Calvin Qualset, USA
Former President American Society of Agronomy
Former Director of the Genetic Resources Conservation Program at University of California, Davis
Kenneth Quesenberry, USA
President, Crop Science Society of America (CSSA)
Professor, Forage Breeding and Genetics Department of Agronomy, University of Florida
Rudy Rabbinge, Netherlands
Chair, Science Council of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
Senator, National Parliament of the Netherlands
Peter Raven, USA
President and Director, Missouri Botanical Gardens
U.S. National Medal of Science, 2000
Roberto Rodrigues, Brazil
Former Minister of Agriculture (Brazil)
Former Chair of the World Committee on Agricultural Cooperatives
Pedro Sanchez, Cuba/ USA
World Food Prize Laureate, 2002
Director of Tropical Agriculture at the Earth Institute, Columbia University
Rajaram Sanjay, India
Former Director, Wheat Program, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
Recipient of Chinese Friendship Award
Papa Seck, Senegal
Director General, Africa Rice Center (WARDA)
Former Chair of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)
Carlos Serι, Uruguay
Director General, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
Former Regional Director International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
Henry Shands, USA
Former Director of the USDA-Agriculture Research Service (ARS) National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation
President of the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST)
Emmy Simmons, USA
Former Assistant Administrator for Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade (EGAT) at USAID
Co-Chair, Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability of the National Academies
Paul Smith, United Kingdom
Head, Millennium Seed Bank, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
International Editor, Oryx Journal
Mahmoud Solh, Lebanon
Director General, International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA)
Former Director, Plant Production and Protection Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
Aleki Sisifa, Tonga
Director, Land Resources Division, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)
Former Deputy Director of Agriculture and Forestry, Tonga
M.S. Swaminathan, India
First World Food Prize Laureate, 1987
Former Minister of Agriculture, India
Peter M.A. Tigerstedt, Finland
Former Member, Technical Advisory Committee to the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
Professor Emeritus, University of Helsinki
Bert Visser, Netherlands
Director, Centre for Genetic Resources the Netherlands (CGN)
Former Chair of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA)
Joachim von Braun, Germany
Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
Former Professor of Food Economics and Policy at Kiel University, Germany
Ren Wang, China
Director, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
Former Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS)
David Williams, USA
Coordinator of the CGIAR System-wide Genetic Resources Program
Former International Affairs Specialist, Foreign Agricultural Service, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Andrew Westby, United Kingdom
President, International Society for Tropical Root Crops
Director of Research, Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich
Mohamed Zehni, Libya
Former Director, Plant Production and Protection Division, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
Former Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Libya to the United Nations Organizations
Robert Zeigler, USA
Director General, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
Time Magazine Global Innovator Award, 2007