Hope for World Hunger
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Gordon Conway shared his views on world hunger during a visit to UC Davis as guest speaker at the division's commencement exercises. |
Although world hunger remains a staggering problem--there are currently 800 million people worldwide who are undernourished--Gordon Conway, Ph.D., Zoology, 1969, believes there is a solution. Fortunately, as president of the Rockefeller Foundation, he is in a position to do something about it.
Conway, an agricultural ecologist who has lived and traveled in some of the world's most impoverished areas, says the solution lies in helping farmers grow life-sustaining crops in low-potential rural lands. These lands, particularly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, have the largest numbers of undernourished people.
"Two recent revolutions in biology offer hope," says Conway. Biotechnology tools, such as genetic engineering, now make it possible to design high-yield grain plants that grow in conditions such as poor soil and dry climate. And environmentally friendly principles, such as sustainable agriculture and integrated pest management, now enable farmers to grow crops using methods that do not adversely affect their health or land.
A third part of the solution, Conway says, is to increase the participation of farmers in solving their farming problems. " We need to recognize the wisdom of farmers," he explains. "They know their watersheds, cropping patterns, and methods of weed control better than extension service `experts.' The farmers need to be involved in their own revolution."
Conway offered these thoughts, which he details in his 1997 book, The Doubly Green Revolution: Food for All in the 21st Century, during a talk in June at UC Davis. It was by no means his first trip to the campus. From 1966 to 1969 he was a graduate student at Davis, earning a doctorate in zoology with a focus on systems ecology.
His visit in June included a second talk as guest speaker at the Division of Biological Sciences commencement ceremony. During his speech, Conway, a native of Wales, shared his great fondness for the campus.
"I arrived at UC Davis after working in Borneo for five years," he recalls. "Coming from the rain forest to a land of shopping malls and highways was a great culture shock. But the people here were just wonderful, and I eventually managed to overcome it."
In the 30 years since he left Davis, Conway has worked and traveled throughout Asia and Africa. In Thailand, he developed methods to analyze agricultural ecosystems. In Pakistan and Ethiopia, he worked side-by-side with villagers to analyze, define, and implement solutions to their farming problems. And in the Sudan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand he developed interdisciplinary centers of environmental education. He has also kept strong ties with the United Kingdom, holding academic positions at Imperial College and the vice chancellorship at the University of Sussex.
Conway's broad international experience, distinguished scholarship, and genuine concern for people made him a likely pick in 1998 for the presidency of the Rockefeller Foundation. Based in New York City, the foundation is dedicated to improving the well being of people throughout the world. It is the oldest and, with $2.8 billion in assets, largest organization of its kind.
Conway takes pleasure in knowing that he is the first ecologist to serve as the foundation's president. "Like most biologists, I'm an optimist," he remarks. "I believe that achievements in biological research hold the promise of considerable benefits for the people of developing countries."
The Rockefeller Foundation has funded more than $100 million of plant biotechnology research in the past 10 years. Highlights of this research include:
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