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World Food Programme India director: Agri universities making a lot of efforts to develop new crop varieties
United Nations World Food Programme representative and country director, Bishow Parajuli, is an alumnus of PAU.
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the World Food Programme for feeding millions of people and its efforts to combat hunger.
United Nations World Food Programme representative and country director to India Bishow Parajuli, who is an alumnus of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has brought huge honour to his alma mater with the World Food Programme winning the Nobel Peace Prize 2020.
“The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 to the World Food Programme (WFP) for its effort to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict,” said Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
Parajuli did his BSc in agriculture, agriculture operations and related sciences from PAU during 1975-78; MBA in marketing and personnel management from Kurukshetra University, Haryana, during 1979-81 and master’s degree in rural development from Imperial College, London.
He has experience of 35 years in development, humanitarian affairs, diplomacy, fundraising and management in over 10 countries in Asia, the Middle East and Africa including WFP headquarters in Rome.
Parajuli while praising PAU said: “In the last few decades, India has made commendable progress in agricultural development. I recall my time at an agricultural university in Punjab in the 1970s; the efforts these universities put in and the thirst of farmers in the state to access new crop breeds were inspiring. Since then, there has been commendable progress leading up to self-sufficiency in food production.”
Dr Harjit Singh, one of the team members of WFP, is also an alumnus of PAU.
Established in 1961, the United Nations World Food Programme is providing assistance to 97 million people across 88 countries. Being the world’s largest humanitarian organisation, it is contributing tremendously by saving the lives of the millions, who are the victims of hunger and poverty. It is working in India for the last 50 years.
PAU vice-chancellor Baldev Singh Dhillon congratulated Parajuli and his team for their outstanding contribution to food security, thus, enabling the WFP to win the highest prestigious honour of the world.
KS Thind, dean, College of Agriculture, while congratulating Parajuli and his team, said: “PAU is proud of its alumnus, who is the representative of WFP that has won the prestigious award.”
