Hans Rudolf Herren

Hans Rudolf Herren ( born November 30, 1947 in Muhlenberg ) is a Swiss entomologist, agricultural and development expert. As a pioneer in the biological control he successfully challenged in the 1980s, mealybugs, which threatened the important staple food cassava in Africa. This should have been a decisive factor to prevent a famine. In 1995 he was awarded the this World Food Prize in 2013, he received the Right Livelihood Award.

Career

Hans Rudolf Herren took 1979 his work at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture ( IITA, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture ) in Nigeria, after he had studied at the ETH Zurich and the University of California at Berkeley. When he arrived, the local researchers were fighting against a six years earlier entrained pest that threatened the cassava.

Cassava, also called cassava, is originally from South America and was brought by the Portuguese to Africa in the 16th century. There he prospered very well because it is an undemanding plant in general and in Africa had no natural enemies. So he became an important staple food, which is mainly grown by small farmers and 200 million people provides more than 50 percent of food energy. But now the cassava mealybug had also been introduced from South America and destroyed in some areas four-fifths of manioc. The governments of the affected countries tried to prevent that by bringing inject pesticides against pests to the impending famine. However, this had only moderate success.

Hans Rudolf Herren and other researchers at IITA sought instead in the South American region of origin for natural enemies of the mealybug. They found in 1984 in Paraguay, a parasitic wasp that kills the mealybugs, other organisms but not impaired. In a large-scale program these parasitic wasps were then brought to Africa and widespread in the Maniokanbaugebieten from Senegal to Angola and Madagascar. In 1986, about 2,000 men per second wasp free. 1993, eventually a natural balance between parasitic wasps and mealybugs had leveled, in 30 countries was the Schmierlauspopulation to a manageable level. Contrary great apprehensions occurred no great famine, would have been affected by the up to 20 million people.

After working at IITA initiated men from 1994 to 2005, the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology ( ICIPE ) in Kenya, where he found biological solutions for other pest problems, especially the push-pull technology against corn pests. Since 2005 he is president of the Millennium Foundation in Arlington, Virginia (USA). Men also adopt a important positions in the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology and the International Association of the Plant Protection Sciences.

With the prize money for the World Food Prize founded Hans Rudolf Herren 1998, the nonprofit organization Biovision that promotes sustainable farming methods and biological control in Africa. So far, Biovision is mainly in Kenya - worked well in Ethiopia - in collaboration with ICIPE.

Men 's co-author and co-chairman of the World Agriculture Report 2008 of the World Food Council ( IAASTD ).

Writings

• The food crisis - causes and recommendations in: Universitas 4/2009, pp. 335-345. (PDF)
• A guide to food in the world: Hunger in abundance ( Worldwatch Institute (ed.) )