In his early career Paul Vlek researched the
benefits in preventing nitrogen (N) losses by deep-placement of urea in
flooded rice, a technology now applied on over 2 million ha of rice
cultivation today. However having experienced the long delay between
discovery and adoption of this technology, Paul Vlek drew attention “to
the all too often delay between invention of new agricultural practice
and adoption which can run into decades. New approaches in agricultural
research are needed to avoid such time lapses by engaging and
integrating all stakeholders in the innovation process from the onset of
research”.
This interdisciplinary research approach has been a
hallmark of Paul Vlek’s career working in Africa, Uzbekistan and
elsewhere to ensure the research outcomes lead to innovation and adopted
new practice. An example was the GLOWA Volta project in West Africa
(2000-2010), an interdisciplinary program addressing the impact of
global climate change and water management in the region.
The
award is presented by the Global Confederation of Higher Education
Associations for Agricultural and Life Sciences (GCHERA), with Nanjing
Agricultural University (NAU). They established the GCHERA World
Agricultural Prize, which was first awarded in 2013, to recognize the
contribution of a faculty member from an agricultural and life science
university who has significantly contributed to the mission of the
university through education, research and knowledge transfer for the
benefit of society. This annual award is given for the second time in
2014.
Professor ZHOU Guanghong, the President of Nanjing
Agricultural University (NAU), welcomed Paul Vlek to the GCHERA 2014
World Agricultural Prize Award Ceremony on September 20 and John
Kennelly, President of GCHERA, announced him as the World Agriculture
Prize Laureate 2014 during GCHERA’s Annual Meeting at NAU.
John
Kennelly held up Professor Paul Vlek as a most deserving recipient of
the World Agriculture Prize based on his outstanding contributions to
education, research and service on the sustainable use of natural
resources over a career that has spanned 40 years.
“This
recognition as an example to others is particularly timely as we face
the challenge of reducing the environmental footprint of agriculture
while increasing food production to meet the needs of a rapidly growing
world population,” he said.
In his acceptance speech Paul Vlek
highlighted that “agriculture is a complex socio-ecological endeavour
with many trade-offs. To better guide our land-stewards (farmers) and
policymakers, the next generation of agricultural scientists must be
trained in the modern tools of complexity science and be able to work
across disciplines and with multiple partners and stakeholders. “
“Only
with such interdisciplinary understanding will the serious threat of
land degradation to food security and to the delivery of essential
ecosystem services be addressed. The cost of rehabilitation of degraded
land, a non-renewable resource, can be prohibitive. The agricultural
scientific community must place this concern much higher on its research
and educational agendas.”
Christian Borgemeister, Director of
ZEF, University of Bonn, welcomed the award recognising Paul Vlek’s
distinguished career. A favourite expression of Paul Vlek is “While you
are up and about you may as well do the best you can”, is a reflection
of his motivation, conviction, dedication, and his leading by example
which have made a tremendous impact on people. “The Center ZEF he help
to build has become one of the world’s best Science and Technology Think
Tanks and is listed among the best university-affiliated Think Tanks.”
“Paul
Vlek has implemented research and education projects in South America,
West and East Africa and Central Asia. Similar projects often end with
the research findings published, but without bringing them to
practitioners and policymakers. In contrast, the projects headed by Paul
Vlek have ended in a different way by translating innovations into
action and introducing development approaches to national agricultural
policy-makers and practitioners.”
The Award Ceremony was followed
by the 2014 GCHERA International Seminar and World Dialogue on
Education and Innovation in Agriculture and Life Sciences, “Fostering
Agriculture Innovation Systems Networks through the Linkage of
University, Industry, and Government,” September 20-21.
BACKGROUND
The recipient Professor Paul Vlek
Since 1998, Paul Vlek has been the Director of the Center for Development Research (ZEF), which he co-founded, at Bonn University, Germany. He has held a number of senior appointments over his 40-year career both in Germany and overseas including Director of the Agro-Economic Division of the International Fertiliser Development Center (IFDC, USA), Director of the IFDC in Africa, Director of the Institute of Agronomy in the Tropics and Dean of the Faculty Agriculture at the Georg –August-University Göttingen, Germany, and founding Executive Director of West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) in Ghana. In 2011, Paul Vlek was appointed to the UNESCO chair on Education for Sustainable Development at Urgench State University, Uzbekistan.
The World Agriculture Prize
The Global Confederation of Higher Education Associations for Agricultural and Life Sciences (GCHERA), with Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU), established the GCHERA World Agricultural Prize in 2012 to recognise the contribution of a faculty staff member from an agricultural and life science university who has significantly contributed to the mission of the university through education, research and knowledge transfer for the benefit of society. This annual award is given for the second time in 2014. NAU sponsors the prize.
The Global Confederation of Higher Education Associations for Agriculture and Life Sciences
The Global Confederation of Higher Education
Associations for Agriculture and Life Sciences (GCHERA) was established
in 1998 but in 2011 the governance structure was changed so that instead
of individual university membership, its membership is now made up of
13 worldwide higher education associations who themselves represent
individual universities in the agricultural and life sciences areas. For
example, China is represented by the Education Professional Committee
of the Chinese Association of Agricultural Sciences Societies, Europe is
represented by the Association for European Life Science Universities,
USA is represented by the Association of Public and Land Grant
Universities and Canada is represented by the Association of Canadian
Faculties of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine.
The Mission of
GCHERA is to encourage and support global co-operation among
agricultural and life sciences higher education associations, and their
member universities, so as to enhance innovation and leadership in
education, research and outreach. GCHERA provides a forum for sharing of
best practices as well as being a global voice on some of the most
pressing challenges facing the world today. Agricultural and life
science universities have a critical role to play in providing the human
resources and the research and innovation needed to meet the challenge
of feeding a rapidly growing world population whilst reducing the
environmental footprint of our food and non food production systems.
For more information, please contact:
Bonn University : Mrs. Alma van der Veen aveen(at)uni-bonn.de
GCHERA: Dr Simon Heath secretariat(at)gchera.com
WASCAL: Ms Jelana Vajen press(at)wascal.org
RELATED LINKS
GCHERA: http://www.gchera.com
Nanjing Agricultural University: http://english.njau.edu.cn/
Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn: http://www.zef.de/index.php?id=zefhome
GCHERA Nanjing: http://wap.njau.edu.cn/Defaulten.aspx
WASCAL: www.wascal.org