Indian agricultural scientist Dr. Swati Nayak – known locally in Odisha as “Bihana Didi” or “Seed Lady” has received the Norman E. Borlaug Award for 2023.
She became the third Indian in history to receive this distinguished award after Aditi Mukherji (2012) and Mahalingam Govindaraj (2022), which acknowledges her incredible impact in agriculture- especially drought-tolerant rice varieties.
What is the Norman E. Borlaug Award?
- The award is funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and is awarded each year in October in Des Moines, Iowa, US by the World Food Prize Foundation for individuals under the age of 40, who have achieved noteworthy, science-based accomplishments internationally in food production and agriculture.
- The award is named after Norman E. Borlaug who is the father of the Green Revolution and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970.
- The award diploma features Dr. Norman E. Borlaug working in the fields of Mexico, and it has a cash award of USD 10,000.
What are the Contributions of Dr. Swati Nayak?
- Dr. Swati Nayak is the first to introduce the drought-tolerant Shahabhagi Dhan rice variety in Odisha. It has transformed rainfed areas. The variety became a food and rotation crop for almost every farmer family.
- She worked on finding trade-offs and developing a realclimate, resilient rice variety collaborative model that can be implemented in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal.
- She is recognized for her systematic way of engaging smallholder farmers in collaborative demand-driven rice seed systems, from testing and pilot deployment to equitable access and adoption of climate-resilient and nutritious rice varieties.
- Pioneered a comprehensive blueprint for the first-ever dedicated Indian government initiative for women farmers, benefitting four million women farmers.
