The World Food Prize is the foremost international award recognizing the accomplishments of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world. The World Food Prize is a $250,000 award formally presented at the Laureate Award Ceremony in mid-October, on or around World Food Day, in conjunction with the Borlaug Dialogue international symposium.

Nominations are sought of an individual or individuals having demonstrated exceptional achievement in any field involved in enhancing food production and distribution and increasing food availability and accessibility to those most in need. Any academic or research institution, private or public organization, corporate entity, or governmental unit may submit a nomination for The World Food Prize until May 1.

In the context of our campaign on the International Year of Pulses, the Global Pulse Confederation would like to, first, encourage many of you to submit their nominations to the Prize, and, second, invite you to submit your application to GPC to receive its nomination. One individual will be selected by a review committee to be nominated by GPC because of his/her contribution to pulse research, production and consumption, food security and nutrition. 

Please review below the nomination procedures and make sure to send your nominations to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by March 15. 

Preparing a submission for a pulse candidate

1. CRITERIA 

  • FOOD SECURITY CRITERIA: Exceptionally significant individual achievement from one person in the full range of the food production and distribution chain with a demonstrable and large impact on food security and nutrition, in particular in a conflict resolution approach.  
  • PULSE CRITERIA: Exceptionally significant individual achievement from one person in the global pulse community with a demonstrable impact on pulse research, production and consumption, food security and nutrition.   

2. NOMINATION PROCESS 

The nomination process on behalf of GPC IYP will be done in two-steps: 

STEP 1: Nomination through the IYP Secretariat  

  • Members of the thematic committees can make submissions of names for consideration
  • To support the submission, members should provide a statement of achievement and impact (2-3 pages) and a short biography of the individual being put forward. This needs to refer to both the pulse and food security criteria.  
  • DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: March 15, 2016 

STEP 2: The IYP Secretariat will put together a committee to review all nominations and make a recommendation to Oversight Committee as to who (it may be more than one) should be nominated on behalf of GPC IYP to the World Food Prize. Once the person(s) is/are selected the Secretariat will work with the members to complete the documents necessary for the submission.  

3. GPC SUBMITS TO WORLD FOOD PRIZE BY MAY 1, IN MICROSOFT WORD FORMAT, FORM TO BE SUBMITTED ONLINE 

4. DOCUMENTS FOR THE WORLD FOOD PRIZE 

The submission to the World Food Prize will include, as per the WFP guidelines:  

  • Synopsis: Synopsis of the nominee's achievement, in max 150 words
  • Statement of Achievement: In no more than 2 pages 
  • Statement of Impact: In no more than 2 pages 
  • Seconding Letters: A letter seconding the nomination must be provided from at least 2 individuals who are familiar with the nominee’s work, but not from the nominating institution.  
  • Supporting Documents  

Eligibility Period:  Nominees remain eligible for consideration for a three-year period, starting with the year of submission. Nominators are encouraged to provide updated information during this period.  

5. DOCUMENT FOR THE GPC IYP SECRETARIAT 

These are the documents required for individuals to be considered by the GPC IYP selection committee: 

  • Statement of Achievement and impact highlighting the particular impact on pulse research, production and/or consumption: In no more than 3 pages 
  • A short biography 

6. SELECTION BY THE WORLD FOOD PRIZE 

Selection of the Prize winner is done by Selection Committee with assistance from The World Food Prize Secretariat. The members are anonymous except the chairman Dr. M.S. Swaminathan. Recommendations are forwarded through the President of the Foundation to the Foundation’s Chairman of the Board of Directors and Council of Advisors for final approval. 

7. WORLD FOOD PRIZE AWARD 

The award recipient receives $250,000 and is invited to deliver a speech during the Borlaug Dialogue.