Sponsor

International Fertilizer Association 

Description

Since 1993, IFA has granted the IFA Norman Borlaug Award to a person whose research or extension work has led to significant advances in crop nutrition. In 2021, IFA decided to expand its awards in recognition that it is important to look at plant nutrition in a new way — a new paradigm that follows a food system approach and pursues multiple socioeconomic, environmental and health outcomes.

The IFA Norman Borlaug Plant Nutrition Award recognizes a large portfolio of research achievements demonstrating that the individual candidate has made significant contributions to knowledge as well as concrete solutions that are essential for achieving the new paradigm.

Fertilizers and those nutrients that occur in nature play a critical role in raising crops and livestock for food security, human nutrition and other uses in the bioeconomy such as recovering nutrients from waste streams and recycling back to crop production. Nutrient production and management must change to nourish crops, improve human nutrition, reduce harmful environmental effects caused by greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient losses, and contribute to the restoration of soil health more effectively. The IFA Science Awards recognize the role that scientists play in advancing and promoting new, more sustainable crop nutrition solutions that would support the five interconnected aims of responsible plant nutrition as outlined in the New Paradigm for Plant Nutrition:

• Emissions and environment
• Nutrition and health
• Soil health
• Waste and recycling
• Income, productivity, efficiency and resilience

Eligibility

• The award is offered to individuals (not to teams, organizations or companies) for their research efforts.
• Women scientists are particularly encouraged to apply.
• This award recognizes a large portfolio of research achievements, demonstrating that the candidate has made significant contributions to knowledge as well as concrete solutions that are essential for achieving the new paradigm for responsible plant nutrition. This may include significant discoveries made in fundamental research, inventions, or novel applied research that could lead to practical solutions. The likely winner of the award will have completed his/her PhD more than 10 years ago and have a strong record of publication and professional activity that has demonstrated their work to be relevant, significant and with impact.
• Qualified individuals can be nominated by public or private sector organizations or well-respected scientists engaged in plant nutrition research and its practical applications.
• Eligibility is restricted to researchers who are still active in science - i.e., retired scientists are not eligible.

Nominations will be evaluated in the context of the “New Paradigm for Responsible Plant Nutrition” as developed by the Scientific Panel on Responsible Plant Nutrition.

Prize

The recipient of the IFA Norman Borlaug Award will receive € 10,000 (ten thousand euros) and will be invited to become a member of the Scientific Panel for Responsible Plant Nutrition.

How to Apply

Nominations must be submitted online, using the application form provided on the IFA Norman Borlaug Award webpage. Please also submit an OR-5 and a completed application to research.services@uoguelph.ca by the external deadline.

For More Information

Please contact ailsakay@uoguelph.ca or sbeltaief@fertilizer.org. Please also visit the IFA Norman Borlaug award webpage.