Posthumous tribute to the Late Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram through Agriculture for Peace ceremony organized by CIMMYT in Mexico Posthumous tribute to the Late Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram through Agriculture for Peace ceremony organized by CIMMYT in Mexico

Posthumous tribute to the Late Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram through Agriculture for Peace ceremony organized by CIMMYT in Mexico

Embassy of India
Mexico City

PRESS RELEASE

Posthumous tribute to the Late Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram through Agriculture for Peace ceremony organized by CIMMYT in Mexico.

Mexico City
01 May, 2022

     To pay posthumous tribute to the Late Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram, an Agriculture for Peace Ceremony was organized by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (hereinafter CIMMYT) at Metepec, State of Mexico, Mexico on Thursday, 28 April 2022. The event was attended by the Hon’ble Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, H.E. Mr. Marcelo Ebrard Casaubón, the Hon’ble Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, H.E. Mr. Victor Villalobos Arámbula, Ambassador of India to Mexico, Dr. Pankaj Sharma, Director General of CIMMYT, Dr. Bram Govaerts, the representative of the Hon’ble Governor of State of Mexico, the family of Late Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram, the Head of Global Wheat Improvement at CIMMYT Dr. Ravi Singh, amongst others.

     Born in India and a naturalized Mexican citizen, Dr. Rajaram has left two important legacies: he developed 510+ wheat varieties that are now planted in 51 countries, which have continued to feed the world for decades, and he contributed to the establishment of one of the most important research centers in Mexico, the CIMMYT. Dr. Rajaram was the recipient of over 75 honors and recognitions, including India´s civilian award Padma Shri* in 2001, World Food Prize in 2014, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award in 2015, and more recently, he was posthumously conferred with the third highest civilian award Padma Bhushan* by the Hon´ble President of India in March 2022.

     To honor his memory as the scientist who has contributed the most to food security, the Agriculture for Peace event saw a plaque unveiling ceremony through which, the Experimental Station of the CIMMYT was named after Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram.

     FM Ebrard referred to the importance of the posthumous recognition of Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram and his work as a researcher and remarked: ¨With his work, he made it possible for millions of people to survive. We are probably talking about the greatest contribution to humanity in the 20th century. And Dr. Rajaram did it without any motivation for profit, for his motivation was to help others."

     Remarking on the relationship between Mexico and India, FM Ebrard referred to them as countries that share common challenges, mainly hunger and the contradictions of wealth and poverty. ¨We are two very large democracies, we have multi-ethnicities, Mexico has 62 living languages today; India is a continent; we are among the most advanced and fastest growing countries in manufacturing and new technologies," he noted.

     The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dr. Villalobos pointed out that Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram's contributions have enabled producers around the world to harvest more than 200 million tons of wheat. He commented that just as Norman Borlaug and Sanjaya Rajaram worked to combat world hunger in their time, CIMMYT and other national scientists must take up their leadership role to work together, prioritize agriculture, and build lasting peace based on ensuring world food security.

     Ambassador Pankaj Sharma mentioned about the Sonora wheat variety developed in Mexico, which played an important role in India´s Green Revolution. While referring to the World Bank´s projection that the global wheat production would need to increase by 60% up from its 2000 level, in order to meet the demand due to rising population, he highlighted the importance of intensifying collaboration between institutes like the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and CIMMYT.

     (*The Padma Awards are one of the highest civilian honors of India announced annually on the eve of Republic Day. The Awards are given in three categories: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher order) and Padma Shri (distinguished service). The award seeks to recognize achievements in all fields of activities or disciplines where an element of public service is involved. The Padma Awards are conferred on the recommendations made by the Padma Awards Committee, which is constituted by the Prime Minister every year.)

About the Late Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram:

     The Late Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram, born in 1943 in Raipur near Varanasi in the state of Uttar Pradesh, was an Indian born Mexican scientist (naturalized Mexican citizen). He is known for having impacted the lives of millions of people with the development of 510+ varieties of high-yielding and disease resistant wheat varieties, which today, are grown on more than 60+ million hectares of land in 51 countries throughout the world. His contributions have led to an increase in the global wheat production of 200+ million tons in diverse regions across the world.

     Dr. Rajaram´s distinguished career began in CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre) in Mexico in 1969 where he worked alongside Dr. Norman Borlaug, and later succeeded him as Head of Wheat breeding program at CIMMYT for the next 30 years. He expanded on the idea of shuttle breeding approach that led to wide adaptation of new plants to differing climates and soil conditions making his wheat varieties reach marginal areas of many countries. Dr. Rajaram is also credited with development of aluminum-tolerant and rust-resistant wheat varieties which proved to be a cost-effective and environmentally sound way to control plant diseases and majorly built upon the success of Green Revolution.

     The humanist in Dr. Rajaram recognized the importance of supplying nutrition to the poor, and he strongly supported research on micro-nutrient enriched wheat varieties. In the pursuit of sharing his knowledge and cultivating the talents of the next generation of plant scientists, he had trained and mentored 700+ scientists, who, today, are carrying forward his legacy.

     For these reasons, Dr. Borlaug had praised Dr. Rajaram by stating “You have developed into the greatest present-day wheat scientist in the world. You have made, and continue to make many important contributions to further improve world wheat production, and are a scientist of great vision.”

     The late Dr. Rajaram was the recipient of over 75 honors and recognitions, including having received, Padma Shri in 2001, World Food Prize in 2014, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award in 2015, and more recently, he was conferred with the third highest civilian award Padma Bhushan by the Hon´ble President of India in March 2022, posthumously.

Figure 1: Unveiling of plaque honoring Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram

Figure 2: At the CIMMYT facility in Metepec, State of Mexico.

Figure 3: Hon´ble Foreign Minister and Hon´ble Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Mexico with the Norman E. Borlaug award conferred on them by CIMMYT for their promotion of food security and social inclusion in Mexico and Latin America.

Figure 4: Hon´ble Foreign Minister of Mexico, H.E. Mr. Marcelo Ebrard.

Figure 5: Ambassador of India to Mexico, H.E. Pankaj Sharma.

Figure 6: Dr. Ravi Singh. Head of Global Wheat Improvement at CIMMYT

Figure 7: Mr. Jaiprakash Rajaram, son of the Late Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram,

Mexico City
1 May 2022

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