A. Colin McClung
Encyclopedia
Dr. A. Colin McClung is an American scientist who received the 2006 World Food Prize
for his role in helping transform the Cerrado
– a region of vast, once infertile tropical high plains stretching across Brazil – into highly productive cropland. McClung's research on the soil degradation plaguing central Brazil showed that acidity, toxic levels of aluminum, and deficiencies of several micronutrients in the soil limited plant growth. Moreover, McClung developed a treatment which employed dolomitic lime to eliminate the aluminum toxicity of the soils, supply calcium and magnesium, and modify the availability of other nutrients.
In the five decades since McClung’s initial discovery, Brazil’s farmers have been able to produce sufficient crops not only to feed and sustain a population that has tripled to over 180 million people, but also to emerge as an international leader in agricultural production.
Adding to the contributions of fellow 2006 World Food Prize Laureates, Mr. Edson Lobato
and H.E. Alysson Paolinelli
of Brazil, McClung played an integral part in making agricultural development possible in the Cerrado, a region named from Portuguese words meaning “closed, inaccessible land.”
World Food Prize
The World Food Prize is an international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world.-The Prize:...
for his role in helping transform the Cerrado
Cerrado
The Cerrado, is a vast tropical savanna ecoregion of Brazil, particularly in the states of Gioas and Minas Gerais...
– a region of vast, once infertile tropical high plains stretching across Brazil – into highly productive cropland. McClung's research on the soil degradation plaguing central Brazil showed that acidity, toxic levels of aluminum, and deficiencies of several micronutrients in the soil limited plant growth. Moreover, McClung developed a treatment which employed dolomitic lime to eliminate the aluminum toxicity of the soils, supply calcium and magnesium, and modify the availability of other nutrients.
In the five decades since McClung’s initial discovery, Brazil’s farmers have been able to produce sufficient crops not only to feed and sustain a population that has tripled to over 180 million people, but also to emerge as an international leader in agricultural production.
Adding to the contributions of fellow 2006 World Food Prize Laureates, Mr. Edson Lobato
Edson Lobato
Edson Lobato is a Brazilian soil fertility scientist who received the 2006 World Food Prize for his role in helping transform the Cerrado into productive cropland. Adding to the contributions of fellow 2006 World Food Prize Laureates, Dr. A...
and H.E. Alysson Paolinelli
Alysson Paolinelli
Alysson Paolinelli is a Brazilian agronomic engineer and public official who received the 2006 World Food Prize for his role in transforming the Cerrado into productive cropland. Paolinelli was Brazil’s Minister of Agriculture from 1974 to 1979.-References:...
of Brazil, McClung played an integral part in making agricultural development possible in the Cerrado, a region named from Portuguese words meaning “closed, inaccessible land.”