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Barwale, Indian seed-specialist, gets World Food Prize

Chairman of Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Corporation B R Barwale will receive the 1998 World Food Prize, the donors announced on Tuesday.

The $ 250,000 prize, which in 12 years has become the top international award recognising contributions to the world food supply, is to be formally presented to Barwale in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday.

''Today, I am a man with a suit and tie, but basically I'm a simple Indian farmer from a small town,'' said Barwale, introduced at a news conference on Tuesday by prize founder Norman E Borlaug, who won the Nobel peace prize in 1970 for his work in developing high-yielding grain.

Barwale is chairman of Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Corporation, also known as Mahyco. His company sells seeds to farmers throughout India and has plans to expand into Africa.

Mahyco is the world's largest producer of hybrid cottonseed and, with its production of more than 300 varieties of rice, wheat, corn, sorghum and other seeds, has contributed to India's becoming self-sufficient in food in recent years.

The World Food Prize is awarded annually by the private World Food Prize Foundation based at Iowa State University College of Agriculture in Ames, Iowa.

''Barwale has dedicated his life to improving agricultural productivity in India,'' said John Ruan, an Iowa trucking company owner who has endowed the prize and oversees the foundation.

''His vision to see the private sector take the lead in India's seed industry has literally transformed the country's food production system. His achievements serve as a great example to other developing nations striving to become self-sufficient in food,'' said Ruan.

Elizabeth Dole, head of the American Red Cross, congratulated Barwale at the news conference, praising his help in staving off hunger.

''My heart goes out to families who watch helplessly as their children fail to thrive,'' she said.

Barwale declared it ''absolutely possible'' to feed India's population, which will shortly exceed one billion.

Since 1986, the World Food Prize has honored individuals for vital contributions to improving the quality, quantity or availability of food throughout the world. Previous laureates include Dr M S Swaminathan, architect of India's green revolution (1987), He Kang, former minister of agriculture in China (1993) and Dr Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh (1994).

UNI