Norman E. Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application

The Norman E. Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application is presented each year by the World Food Prize Foundation and is endowed by The Rockefeller Foundation. It honors one person under the age of 40 whose science-based achievement in international agriculture and food production has been carried out closely and directly in the field, or at the production or processing level. Nominees may work with a public or private educational, research or development organization, and must still be active in the discipline, research area, position or project for which they are put forward.

The award carries USD 10,000 and is presented in Des Moines, Iowa, on or near World Food Day, 16 October, during the Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue. Nominations are submitted by a third party — the Foundation does not accept self-nominations — and are judged by an independent jury of international agricultural experts chaired by Dr. Ronnie Coffman.

Benefits & funding

USD 10,000 award, endowed by The Rockefeller Foundation.
Travel and accommodation provided by the Foundation for the recipient to attend the award ceremony in Des Moines, Iowa.
Recognition during the Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue, the Foundation’s annual global gathering on food security.

Eligibility

Open to individuals of any nationality; the Foundation states no residency requirement.
The nominee must not have reached their 40th birthday before World Food Day, 16 October, of the year in which the award is presented.
The achievement must be science-based work in international agriculture and food production, done closely and directly in the field or at the production or processing level.
The nominee must be actively working in the discipline, research area, position or project(s) being recognized.
Affiliation with a public or private educational, research or development organization is accepted.
No degree level or minimum years of experience is specified.
Self-nominations are not accepted; a third party must submit the nomination.

Can you apply?

Here's who can apply

Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.

Age requirement
≤ 39 yrs

Check my eligibility — free

Circlebreaker is a free database of global fellowships, scholarships and programs — every one decoded like this.

We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.

Application process

1
Secure a nominator — a colleague, supervisor or institution — because self-nomination is not accepted.
2
The nominator creates an account on the online nomination portal and completes the form in English.
3
Write a concise statement of the nominee’s accomplishments and their impact, within a 3,000-word limit.
4
Attach the nominee’s curriculum vitae, including date of birth and background.
5
Gather one nomination letter and a maximum of two letters of support.
6
Upload a head shot of the nominee at a minimum of 300 dpi, plus up to two optional action photographs.
7
Submit by 1 June. A partly filled form can be saved and resumed with the account login, and only a submitted entry is counted.
8
An independent jury of international agricultural experts reviews the nominations; the recipient is announced in the August–September period and honored in Des Moines in October.

Program timeline

Nominations opened for the 2026 award
Mar 4, 2026
Nomination deadline
Jun 1, 2026
2026 recipient Pamela Afokpe announced at DialogueNEXT in Nairobi
Jun 30, 2026
Award presented in Des Moines during the Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue, on or near World Food Day
2026-10
Next cycle
nominations reopen in early March; the 1 June deadline is fixed each year