DialogueNEXT India is a high-level, two-day event to be held in New Delhi, India, to discuss breakthrough agricultural innovations and systems changes to help the world avoid a[...]

WHAT: High-level government officials from India, Asia, the United States, Mexico and Africa, as well as World Food Prize Laureates, agricultural and business leaders, scientists, and farmers will meet in a two-day event to confront the looming challenge of feeding a global population of 9.7 billion by 2050 and the agricultural innovation needed over the next 25 years to steer clear of a hunger tipping point.

This year's DialogueNEXT, with the theme "Take it to the Farmer", is hosted by the World Food Prize Foundation in partnership with CIMMYT, Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA), and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The agenda reflects the importance of breakthrough innovations reaching the farmers, especially in the global south, to rapidly boost agricultural production to meet the food and nutrition needs of an expanding population sustainably.

WHEN: Monday-Tuesday, September 8-9, 2025.
(A press conference will be held on September 8 from 10.45 - 11.15 local time at the venue.)

WHERE: ICAR Convention Centre, NASC Complex, Dev Prakash Shastri Marg, New Delhi 110012, India. Registration is now open for on-site participation from accredited media here.

WHO: The event will feature several eminent personalities, including:
• Hon. Kim Reynolds | Governor, State of Iowa
• Mike Naig | Secretary of Agriculture, State of Iowa
• Mashal Husain | President, World Food Prize Foundation
• Ajay Kumar Sood | Principal Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister of India and Board Member, CIMMYT
• Ramesh Chand | Member, National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog
• Mangi Lal Jat | Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education and Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research
• Bram Govaerts | Director General, CIMMYT and 2014 Borlaug Field Award Recipient
• Rajendra Singh Paroda | Chairman, Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences and Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education and Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (1992-2001)
• Máximo Torero Cullen | Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization
• Trilochan Mohapatra | Chairperson, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority
• Himanshu Pathak | Director General, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
• Krishna Prasad Timsina | Executive Director, Nepal Agriculture Research Council
• Simon Heck | Director General, International Potato Center
• D.K. Yadava | Deputy Director General, Crop Science, Indian Council of Agricultural Research

KEY SESSIONS during the event shall include:
• Agriculture without Borders: The NEXT South-South Collaboration
• Sowing the NEXT Season of Peace Through Agriculture
• Farmer-Centric NEXT Innovations
• Taking Innovation and Technologies to the NEXT Level
• Science at Work: NEXT Steps for Smallholder Harvests
• Agriculture's Quiet Architects: Tending the NEXT Landscapes
• Reimagining the NEXT Stage of Nutrition and Food Systems
• NEXT Pathways to Improved Value Chains and Markets for Farmers
• From Ideas to Markets: Cultivating the NEXT Opportunity
• Borlaug's Torch: Lighting the NEXT Pathway

WHY: This year marks a pivotal moment for the World Food Prize Foundation and the global community. With the population projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050 - a mere 25 years from now - the challenge to feed the world is urgent and demands investment in cutting-edge agricultural research, scalable innovations, and cross-sector collaboration.

More than 150 Nobel and World Food Prize Laureates recently raised the alarm that the world was "not even close" to meeting future food needs in an open letter. The signatories called for an urgent increase in agricultural research and development to close the gap and avert a hunger catastrophe.

DialogueNEXT India is the second part of a three-part event series tracing Dr. Norman Borlaug's international footsteps and revisiting the countries enshrined in his legacy. Through a powerful progression of collaborative conversations, participants create a meaningful dialogue that leads to critical next steps in alleviating hunger. These exchanges will set the stage for essential discussions at the annual Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue from October 21-23, 2025 in Des Moines, Iowa, USA.