Quest for answers to world food security will take MLHS senior halfway around the world
Almost one year ago to the day, Rebekah Klassen of Mountain Lake, the daughter of Chad and Esther Klassen, was “flying high” with inspiration.
She had just been named a Borlaug Scholar after spending a full Saturday discussing problems and solutions on the topic with other like-minded teenagers in grades eight-through-12 – as well as presenting a paper on eradicating world hunger – at The World Food Prize Minnesota Youth Institute on the University of Minnesota-St. Paul campus.
In June 2016, Rebekah learned that she had been selected to represent the State of Minnesota as a delegate at the Global Youth Institute held in Des Moines, Iowa in mid-October of last year.
At the Global Youth Institute, Rebekah joined 400 other outstanding high school students and teachers from across the United States and around the world for three days of interacting with Nobel and World Food Prize Laureates, along with the more than 1,000 global leaders from 65 countries who attended the World Food Prize’s annual Borlaug Dialogue International Symposium. The symposium pulls the world’s foremost experts together to discuss cutting-edge issues in food security, and multiple youth education programs to inspire the next generation to study and work in fields related to global agriculture. While there, Rebekah solidified her role as a member of the next generation to focus on solving the global food crisis through scientific and humanitarian means.
The late Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work in global agriculture, envisioned a prize that would honor those who have made significant and measurable contributions to improving the world’s food supply. Beyond recognizing these people for their personal accomplishments, Borlaug saw “The Prize” as a means of establishing role models who would inspire others. His vision was realized when The World Food Prize was created in 1986, with sponsorship by General Foods Corporation.
Since then, The World Food Prize has honored outstanding individuals who have made vital contributions to improving the quality, quantity or availability of food throughout the world. Laureates have been recognized from countries around the world, including Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Cape Verde, China, Cuba, Denmark, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Israel, Mexico, Sierra Leone, Switzerland, Uganda, United Kingdom, the United Nations and the United States.
Today, there are over 80 companies, foundations and individuals who are donors to the Foundation. John Ruan III is chairman of The World Food Prize. The Foundation’s president is Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn. A distinguished international Council of Advisors provides guidance and support.
(The World Food Prize, along with the United States Agriculture (USDA), also offers Wallace-Carver Fellowships to students who earn paid internships with scientists and policymakers at leading USDA research centers and offices across the United States.)
New level of motivation
And now, 17-year-old Rebekah, a senior at Mountain Lake Public High School (MLHS) set to graduate on May 26, has taken her motivation for achieving world food security to another level. She is once again “flying high” after earning a prestigious Borlaug-Ruan International Internship. That recognition also means that she will be flying far away from Mountain Lake this summer – halfway around the world to Jalna, India.
The Borlaug-Ruan International Internship is different from other study abroad internship programs in that students participate in original research projects with acclaimed international scientists, while getting a firsthand view of pressing food security issues and nutritional problems in poverty-stricken areas of the developing world.
Through the all-expenses-paid, eight-week internship program, the student becomes an integral part of her or his assigned project, spending time in the lab, as well as days or weeks at a time in the field, conducting research and gathering data.
Over the past 19 years, The World Food Prize has sent more than 270 students on Borlaug-Ruan International Internships at 34 of the top agricultural research centers and institutions around the world in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, including: Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Peru, Philippines, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turkey.
The internship is named for Dr. Borlaug, along with Iowa businessman and philanthropist John Ruan Sr., who was the first to come forward to sponsor The World Food Prize.
Borlaug boost
According to Rebekah, the late Dr. Norman E. Borlaug reached rock star status in agriculture research during his lifetime. “I researched him, read some of his books – he is known as ‘The Father of the Green Revolution,’ as well as ‘The Man Who Saved A Billion Lives.’ Dr. Borlaug’s work was transformative; he left a huge legacy,” Rebekah emphatically states.
Dr. Borlaug, a biologist and humanitarian received his Bachelor of Science in Biology in 1937 and his Ph.D. in plant pathology and genetics from the University of Minnesota in 1942. He developed semi-dwarf, high-yield, disease-resistant wheat varieties. Borlaug, who passed away in 2009 at the age of 95, was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal – and the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian honor.
It was during the summer following Rebekah’s freshman year in high school – her Greenhand year as a FFA member – that she pinpointed world hunger as a cause in which she was curious and eager to learn about. “I was working on a speech for FFA, and world hunger was on the list of topics. I began researching the connection between poverty, poor soil for growing food, lack of education and world hunger. That interconnection led me to dig deeper into the facts surrounding the causes and statistics.”
What she discovered piqued her interest, and she became a local spokesperson on world hunger, writing a ream of papers on the subject, and presenting a line of speeches and presentations on worldwide food insecurity and possible answers.
Knowing her deep passion on the subject, “Ms. (Lindsey) Brown (now Lindsey Brockberg), one of my ag teachers and FFA Advisors – and mentor – found out about The World Food Prize Minnesota Youth Institute, and shared it with me to see if I was interested,” explains Rebekah. “Indeed, I was very interested, and began preparing my paper, working on it off-and-on for about a year. The focus of my paper was on India and the hunger pangs of its people.
“India is at the top of the charts with the country’s number of malnourished children,” Rebekah shares. “In addition, they have a super-dense population. Ag productivity levels are low; the soil is old soil; worn-out soil – not suited for productive farming. In addition, their equipment is old and in disrepair.
“It is a lack of education, and, as well, resources, that makes it so hard to improve their farming methods in order to produce enough food for all.
“In order to transform a village into the future, what makes the most sense?” Rebekah asks. “It is a conundrum. Is it better to just give food to feed children – or – to pay for a soil workshop for a rural Indian farmer to learn about better farming practices in order provide sustenance for many?,” Rebekah lays out. “To me, revamping their ag system in order to provide food security – with safe food – food without rotting and disease, is the real transformation needed.
“Unfortunately, with the large wealth gap in the nation, there are not enough resources for the government to educate all of its citizens.”
Following the submission of her research paper, completed under the supervision of her mentor, Rebekah was selected as a 2016 World Food Prize Minnesota Youth Institute participant. That is when Rebekah’s first step toward an internship in India officially began.
Into India
Rebekah will be “into India” in 38 days, leaving for her internship on June 16.
She will make her home with a host family in Jalna, a city in the Jalna District of the Indian state of Maharashtra from mid-June to mid-August, with local weather featuring 90+-degree days – and monsoon season. Jalna is located in the middle of Maharashtra, a state found on the country’s western coast. Mumbai, west of Jalna, is situated along the Arabian Sea coastline. It is the state’s capital city – and the most populous city in India.
While in Jalna, her internship experiences will be with Mahyco, a seed company that has been, according to their website, “sowing the seeds of change in Indian agriculture for the past 53 years.”
Mahyco (Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company Private Limited) is the first company in India to introduce hybrid seeds in many crops, including several vegetable crops. As the pioneer in seed technology, Mahyco has transformed the country’s agricultural landscape and helped the farmers improve crop productivities. Driven by the belief that farming challenges can be addressed only by science-led innovations, Mahyco is on a mission to make India not only self-sufficient in food production, but also a major global exporter of agricultural produce.
The focus of Mahyco is on research and development, production, processing and marketing of seeds for India’s farming fraternity.
Mahyco was founded in 1964 by Padma Bhushan and 1998 World Food Prize awardee, Dr. B. R. Barwale. Dr. Barwale’s legacy and vision have earned him recognition as “The Father of the Seed Industry in India.” At Mahyco, Rebekah’s supervisor will be Dr. Barwale’s daughter, Dr. Usha Barwale Zehr. She will also have a designated mentor during her time “into India.”
While in India, Rebekah will be publishing the blog, “Into India.” Followers can read her posts by going to: https://intoindiasite.wordpress.com/. The purpose of publishing the blog is four-fold for Rebekah – to keeping her writing skills sharp, to keep a personal narrative of her adventures (to make sure she doesn’t forget all that happens, to create a strong portfolio for the future and to keep her story – as well as that of India’s search for sustainable agriculture – “in the face” of followers via social media.
Sowing summertime seeds for her future
Due to the fact that Rebekah will begin her first year of college eight short days after she returns, she has already completed all of the necessary orientation steps, including scheduling her first semester of classes.
She will be attending the University of Northwestern in St. Paul (Go Eagles!), studying under the Honors Program majoring in ESL (English As A Second Language) Education.
Explains Rebekah, “It takes three areas to improve the condition of human beings on planet earth – government, education and agriculture. Right now, I feel like my best fit in working toward that goal is in education. My experiences this summer will definitely lay out to me whether perhaps agriculture is where I can make more of a difference – or I will say, ‘I don’t like this,’ and providing education for the future IS where I belong.”
Links
Here are links to past Cross-Counties Connect posts on this topic, the Minnesota Youth Institiute, The World Food Prize and Mahyco:
https://www.cross-countiesconnect.com/2016/05/hunger-pangs/
https://www.cross-countiesconnect.com/2016/06/towards-world-food-security/
https://www.cross-countiesconnect.com/2016/10/feeding-the-world-is-in-their-hands/
https://www.worldfoodprize.org/en/youth_programs/global_youth_institute/minnesota/
https://www.worldfoodprize.org/
