For the first time in history a Dutch person, Simon Groot, wins the World Food prize. Groot is awarded this prestigious international award, also known as the “Nobel prize for food”, for his transformative role in empowering millions of smallholder farmers in Southeast Asia.
Simon Groot (84) was awarded the prize on Monday, June 10 at the American Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The World Food Prize honors the outstanding achievements of Groot and his company East-West Seed (EWS), which allowed hundreds of millions of consumers greater access to nutritious vegetables. Groot has been working at the multinational company that played a key role in the food supply of over 60 countries for over 40 years.
Simon Groot is honored and excited at the same time. “Vegetable production by smallholder farmers is a great way to generate income in rural areas, strengthen the food supply and create employment.” Groot studied economics at Erasmus School of Economics, after which he started his career in commercial vegetable breeding.
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More information about the Simon Groot and the World Food Prize can be found here.
Photo: Marcel Bakker/Contributed by the World Food Prize Foundation