Contact: Gregory Conko, 202-550-2974, or greg@agbioworld.org
AUBURN, Ala., Feb. 4 -- Progressive Farmer magazine has named Tuskegee
University plant genetics professor C.S. Prakash the 2002 Man of the Year
in Service to Alabama Agriculture. As a plant biotechnology teacher and
practitioner, Prakash's research has led to the development of high-protein
sweet potato varieties and he has contributed to research on other genetically
modified food crops.
As founder and president of the AgBioWorld Foundation, he has advanced
public awareness of the role biotechnology and GM crops can play in promoting
sustainable agriculture and improving conditions in less developed nations.
The Birmingham, Alabama-based Progressive Farmer is published by Southern
Progress Corporation, which also publishes Southern Living and Cooking
Light magazines. The publication established the Man and Woman of the
Year awards program in 1943 to recognize individuals who have made outstanding
contributions to the profession of agriculture. Each year the winners
are featured in the February issue of the magazine.
Professor Prakash serves as director of Tuskegee University's Center
for Plant Biotechnology research, where his current research focuses on
the development of genetically modified transgenic plants, tissue culture,
and plant genomics. The research team he leads has used biotechnology
to improve the quality and increase the quantity of the proteins in sweet
potato, an easy-to-grow food crop in many poorer countries of the tropics,
where high-quality protein foods are often hard to come by.
As founder and president of the AgBioWorld Foundation, Prakash has written
numerous articles and delivered many public addresses explaining how biotechnology
can safely and effectively contribute to improving food security and enhanced
nutrition in less developed nations while simultaneously protecting biodiversity
and contributing to sustainable agriculture. The Foundation hosts a website
(http://www.agbioworld.org) and one of the leading biotechnology-related
on-line discussion services that shares news reports, scientific research,
and commentary with thousands of participants each day.
The AgBioWorld website also features a Declaration in Support of Agricultural
Biotechnology, signed by more than 3,300 scientists from around the world,
including 19 Nobel Prize winners.
The AgBioWorld Foundation is a non-profit educational organization based
in Auburn, Ala. For more information, contact Gregory Conko at 202-550-2974.
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