The two-day gathering brings together high-level policymakers, experts, and farmers to explore frontier innovations in agri-tech, climate- and water-smart practices, youth leadership and nutritious food systems.
New Delhi, India (September 8, 2025) — Global agricultural leaders, policymakers, scientists and farmers are gathering in New Delhi this week for DialogueNEXT in India, a two-day high-level event aimed at exploring and accelerating breakthrough innovations to secure the world’s food future.
Hosted by the World Food Prize Foundation in partnership with CIMMYT, the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), this year’s DialogueNEXT “Take it to the Farmer” continues the farmer-focused theme, building on last year’s DialogueNEXT in Mexico. The conference emphasizes the urgent need to ensure that transformative agricultural solutions reach farmers, particularly across the Global South.
Held on the occasion of World Agriculture Day, DialogueNEXT will shine a global spotlight on those who feed the world. The event celebrates India’s powerful legacy of agricultural innovation, honors Indian World Food Prize Laureates and showcases the country’s leadership in global food systems. Through this gathering, stakeholders across science, policy, business and civil society will come together to advance a farmer-first agenda and deepen cross-sector collaboration—laying essential groundwork for action-oriented outcomes.
“It is an honor to hold this conference in India, 60 years after Dr. Norman Borlaug helped introduce semi-dwarf wheat into India, helping double production in less than a decade and stave off an imminent famine,” said Nicole Prenger, Senior Director, Global Programs and Strategic Communications, World Food Prize Foundation. “DialogueNEXT was designed to mobilize action for a similar ‘moonshot’ push to feed a growing global population sustainably in the coming decades.”
The event, taking place September 8–9 at the ICAR Convention Centre in New Delhi, showcases India’s leadership and excellence in shaping and driving global food systems advances, including from Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister of India and Board Member of CIMMYT.
“India’s leadership and innovations in agriculture are important to unlock gains in productivity, sustainability and access across every facet of the agri-food value chain,” said Bram Govaerts, Director General, CIMMYT and Borlaug Institute for South Asia. “This event helps in connecting the dots and garnering further support to scale these efforts both in India, South Asia and around the world.”
Senior government officials, scientists, and agricultural leaders from across Asia, Europe and the Americas will also be in attendance, including Thinley Namgyel, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock for the Royal Government of Bhutan; Govinda Prasad Sharma, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Government of Nepal; Máximo Torero Cullen, Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and a US delegation from Iowa including The Honorable Governor Kim Reynolds, Secretary of Agriculture Hon. Mike Naig and Brent Johnson, President of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation.
“The emerging global megatrends are posing complex challenges on agri-food systems which need smallholder farmer-centric, systemic solutions and their accelerated uptake,” said Mangi Lal Jat, Secretary of India’s Department of Agricultural Research and Education and Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). “This essentially needs greater investments in cutting-edge science, innovations and partnerships across discovery to delivery. Since India’s agricultural transformation is happening at a faster pace, the country can serve as a smallholder agriculture innovation hub for the Global South.”
With the world’s population projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, DialogueNEXT in India comes at a pivotal moment. More than 150 Nobel and World Food Prize Laureates recently warned that the world is “not even close” to meeting future food demands, urging increased investment in agricultural research and innovation to avert a hunger tipping point.
Key sessions will address urgent issues such as South-South collaboration, farmer-centered innovations, smallholder harvests, nutrition and food systems, value chains and the next generation of agricultural breakthroughs.
DialogueNEXT in India is the second part of a three-part global series retracing the legacy of Dr. Norman Borlaug, the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and father of the Green Revolution. These dialogues build momentum toward the Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue, to be held in Des Moines, Iowa, October 21–23, 2025.
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Notes to editors
Event photos are available for download at www.worldfoodprize.org/photos, after 1 p.m. local time on September 8. All photos should be credited to: World Food Prize Foundation.
For more information or interview requests:
Michael Hoevel
Marchmont Communications
+44 7962 657322
About the World Food Prize Foundation:
The World Food Prize Foundation elevates innovations and inspires action to sustainably increase the quality, quantity and availability of food for all. The Foundation supports this through a variety of innovative programs year-round including by: recognizing and rewarding individuals making exceptional achievements in addressing food security; convening global leaders in Des Moines each year to address the latest issues and innovations in food and agriculture; inspiring, recognizing and empowering students around the world by providing educational and professional experiences on pressing food security and agriculture issues; and addressing Iowa’s challenges and successes in fighting hunger and poverty. For more information, visit https://www.worldfoodprize.org
About CIMMYT
CIMMYT is a cutting edge, nonprofit, international organization dedicated to solving tomorrow’s problems today. It is entrusted with fostering improved quantity, quality, and dependability of production systems and basic cereals such as maize, wheat, triticale, sorghum, millets and associated crops through applied agricultural science, particularly in the Global South, building strong partnerships. This combination enhances the livelihood trajectories and resilience of millions of resource-poor farmers while working toward a more productive, inclusive, and resilient agrifood system within planetary boundaries. For more information, visit: cimmyt.org
About the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA)
BISA was established on October 5, 2011, through an agreement between the Government of India (GoI) and CIMMYT, and was bolstered by the globally credible name of Nobel Laureate Norman Ernest Borlaug. The institution draws on the decades of experience and success by CIMMYT, CGIAR and a global network of partners in using research to generate tangible benefits for farmers internationally. BISA is supported by a growing number of national stakeholders in South Asia. It is committed to stronger collaborations for accelerated impact, most prominently with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the three state governments (Punjab, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh) where BISA farms are located. For more information, visit: bisa.org
About the Indian Council of Agricultural Research
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is the apex body for coordinating, guiding, and managing research, education, and extension in agriculture and allied sectors across India. Established in 1929 as the Imperial Council of Agricultural Research, and later rechristened as ICAR, the Council functions as an autonomous organization under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India. With its headquarters in New Delhi and 113 research/education/extension institutes spread across the country, ICAR has been the driving force behind India’s remarkable progress in agriculture over the past nine decades. The Council’s scientific contributions span multiple domains, including crops, horticulture, livestock, fisheries, natural resource management, agricultural mechanization, biotechnology, and socio-economic research. For more information, visit: icar.org.in
