DHAKA: Director of HarvestPlus Howarth “Howdy” Bouis won the 2016 World Food Prize.

It is joint venture by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).

Three scientists from the International Potato Center (CIP), Drs. Maria Andrade, Robert Mwanga, and Jan Low, have been announced as fellow winners, said a press release.

“This prestigious award recognizes Howdy’s 25 years of pioneering work in expanding the impact of biofortification,” said IFPRI Director General Shenggen Fan.

“His work to reduce hidden hunger has improved the health of millions of people in Asia, Africa and Latin America—and that number could balloon to several hundred million in the coming decades.”

Micronutrient deficiencies, or “hidden hunger,” are leading causes of easily-preventable deaths.

Undernutrition contributes to almost half of deaths in children under 5. More than one in three children under 5 is stunted in most parts of Africa and South Asia.

Bouis’ work has paved the way for biofortified crops, including iron- and zinc-fortified beans, rice, wheat, and pearl millet and vitamin A–fortified cassava, maize, and orange-fleshed sweet potato, which are now being tested or released in over 40 countries.

“It’s a tremendous honor to win the World Food Prize, and I am particularly excited to expand the work we’re doing at HarvestPlus,” said Bouis.

The award will be presented on October 13 at the state capitol in Des Moines, Iowa, as the centerpiece of the three-day 2016 Borlaug Dialogue. The four laureates will share a $250,000 prize.       

Previous winners of the award include former President of Ghana John Kufour; U.S. Senators Bob Dole and George McGovern; Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus; former IFPRI Director General Dr. Per Pinstrup-Andersen; Professor Yuan Longping of China; and former Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme Catherine Bertini.

HarvestPlus and partners are improving the health of Bangladeshi women and children in Bangladesh with zinc deficiency through the introduction of zinc biofortified rice varieties for production and consumption by smallholder farm households.

In 2016, it expanded its operation in 64 districts covering around 500,000 farm households.

BDST: 1112 HRS, JUN 30, 2016
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