Pedro A. Sanchez, PhD

Dr. Pedro A. Sanchez was born in Cuba and grew to have an immediate attachment to soil as he said he would “play with dirt” when he was younger. As his family owned a fertilizer-blending business they encouraged his pursuits. Pedro obtained a BS (1962), MS, and PhD (1968) in Soil Sciences at Cornell University, and then joined the North Carolina State University as faculty in 1968.

For the next four years, Pedro led a research team in Peru, helping the country achieve rice self-sufficiency and become the world’s largest rice producer. This rice would be called “miracle” rice for its ability to grow in suboptimal soil; this would later be known as the “Green Revolution.” In 1972, Pedro left, hoping to bring a similar change in Latin American and African countries, beginning in Brazil, where his team revolutionized tropical soil farming in the Cerrado region.

He was the Director General of the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya from 1991-2001, Co-chair of the UN Millennium Project Hunger Task Force from 2002-2005, and Director of the Millennium Villages Project from 2004-2010. His efforts were towards combating the depletion of soil fertility. His work on agricultural research would serve the greater goal of combating world hunger. 

He has numerous awards and accolades.In addition to more than 250 publications, he was a 2002 World Food Prize Laureate and a 2003 MacArthur Fellow. He is also a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy, the Soil Science Society of America, and the American Association for the Advancement of Soil Science. He has received the International Soil Science Award, International Services in Agronomy Award, and the Crop Science Society of America Presidential Award. He received the Charles A. Black Award from CAST.

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© John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation–used with permission

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