The World Food Prize Foundation has received substantial pledges from Monsanto and DuPont..
Monsanto Co. has contributed $5 million to ensure the continuation of the annual World Food Prize International Symposium — now known as the "Borlaug Dialogue."
DuPont plans to make a $1 million contingent donation, which will be administered through DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred.
The funds support a renewed fundraising campaign to transform the historic Des Moines Public Library building into a public museum to honor Dr. Norman Borlaug and the work of the World Food Prize Laureates. The contributions are meant to ensure that the Norman E. Borlaug Hall of Laureates will become the permanent home of "The Borlaug Dialogue," the World Food Prize’s annual symposium on cutting-edge topics of global food security.
Both the building and the symposium are named in honor of the Iowa-born Borlaug, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his role in saving the lives of upwards of one billion people as the "Father of the Green Revolution." Borlaug founded the World Food Prize in 1986. It has since become informally known as the "Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture" and the annual Borlaug Dialogue has come to be seen as one of America’s foremost international conferences.
The Norman Borlaug Hall of Laureates is scheduled to be completed in 2010.
