Borlaug Fellowship Program at USDA promotes United States cooperation with developing countries

Bourlag biography from Nobel website

USDA programme, titled in honor of Nobel Prize Laureate Norman Borlaug, promotes food security and economic growth by providing training and collaborative research opportunities to fellows from developing and middle-income countries.

Norman Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. He was granted the prize for the primary role played during the so called Green Revolution.
He worked in Mexico, India and Pakistan to promote the introduction of more productive varieties of crops developed in years of research and testing.

The Green Revolution refers to the capacity to use technology to modify the environment so as to create more optimal conditions for crops and livestock than nature alone can offer (i.e. if it is dry, irrigate; if soil fertility is low, fertilize; if pests and weeds invade crops, spray or dust; if livestock are threatened by disease, vaccinate and medicate; or if more energy is needed to till the land, mechanize and use fossil fuels). Improved varieties of rice and wheat could benefit from the use of external inputs (including water) that provided good growing conditions for realizing the genetic potential of the new varieties. The creation of socio-economic enabling environments that opened up for the use of these inputs and created markets for the sale of the produce was an integral part of this change. (FAO, 1996) 

Borlaug fellows are generally scientists, researchers, or policymakers who are in the early or middle stages of their careers. Each fellow works one-on-one with a mentor at a U.S. university, research center or government agency, usually for 8-12 weeks. The U.S. mentor will later visit the fellow’s home institution to continue collaboration. Fellows may also attend professional conferences and events within their field, such as the annual World Food Prize Symposium.

The programme encourages the fellowships of practitioners focused on specific research indicated in the Priorities by target countries. Additionally, the programme pursuits a number of Special Programs

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