With Trump shutting USAID, Father of Green Revolution Norman Borlaug's research institute knocks on India's doors

Six decades ago, the legendary agricultural scientist Norman Borlaug ushered in India's Green Revolution through his high-yielding, semi-dwarf wheat varieties such as Lerma Rojo 64A, Sonora 63, Sonora 64 and Mayo 64.

- BY S VENKAT NARAYAN Our Special Correspondent

Borlaug's work is credited with saving over a billion lives from starvation. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work. He believed that "you can't build peace on empty stomachs."

Today, his organisation the Mexico-headquartered International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center or CIMMYT - is reaching out to the Indian government and the private sector, seeking financial support for its breeding research and development programme in the two cereals that cover over a quarter of the world's cropped area.

The reason: A funding crunch brought about by global factors, including the shutting down of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) by President Donald Trump officially from July 1.

The agency, which administered civilian foreign aid and development assistance for the US government, accounted for about $83 million out of CIMMYT'S total grant revenue of $211 million in 2024. That made it CIMMYT's largest funder, followed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (now Gates Foundation), which gave $42 million.

Norman Borlaug (1914-2009) was an American agronomist, humanitarian, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who is widely known as the father of the Green Revolution. His work in developing high-yield, disease-resistant varieties of wheat dramatically increased food production in several countries, helping to avert famine and feed millions, particularly in the developing world.

In the 1940s, Borlaug began work in Mexico, where he developed semi-dwarf, high-yielding, disease-resistant wheat varieties. These seeds, combined with improved agricultural practices, tripled wheat production in Mexico by the 1960s. His methods were later introduced in India and Pakistan, which were facing severe food shortages. By the early 1970s, both countries became self-sufficient in cereal production, helping prevent massive famines.