By Abbas Nazil
UC Davis plant geneticist Pam Ronald has been awarded the 2022 International Wolf Prize in Agriculture for her groundbreaking work in developing flood-tolerant rice varieties that are now feeding millions of people in South Asia.
The Jerusalem-based Wolf Foundation recognized Ronald for her pioneering research on disease resistance and environmental stress tolerance in rice, which has had a transformative impact on food security and sustainable agriculture.
She is the first woman among six UC Davis scientists to receive the prestigious award, which comes with a $100,000 prize.
The Wolf Foundation, which has honored leading scientists and artists worldwide since 1978, said Ronald’s achievements are “in the interest of mankind and friendly relations amongst peoples.”
The committee highlighted her success in isolating a gene that enables rice plants to survive up to two weeks of flooding and increases yield by 60 percent compared to conventional varieties.
These flood-tolerant rice strains are now grown by more than 6 million subsistence farmers in India and Bangladesh, where annual floods destroy over 4 million tons of rice — enough to feed 30 million people.
Ronald, a distinguished professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at UC Davis since 1992, is also affiliated with the UC Davis Genome Center and the Physical Biosciences Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Her discoveries, the foundation noted, demonstrate an advanced understanding of biological processes and contribute significantly to global agricultural resilience.
Beyond her scientific research, Ronald founded the UC Davis Institute for Food and Agricultural Literacy, aimed at equipping the next generation of scientists with strong communication skills to engage the public on agricultural and food issues.
She co-authored the book “Tomorrow’s Table: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food” with her husband, Raoul Adamchak, an organic farmer and former market garden coordinator for the UC Davis Student Farm, who retired in 2020.
In 2020, Ronald was named a World Agricultural Prize Laureate by the Global Confederation of Higher Education Associations for Agricultural and Life Sciences, further cementing her reputation as a global leader in agricultural innovation.
Other UC Davis recipients of the Wolf Prize in Agriculture include Jorge Dubcovsky (2014), Harris Lewin (2011), Roger Beachy (2001), Gurdev Khush (2000), and the late Shang-Fa Yang (1991).
Ronald’s work continues to inspire scientists and policymakers seeking sustainable solutions to global food challenges, especially in regions vulnerable to climate change and extreme weather events.
Her achievements exemplify the power of science to improve lives and protect food systems worldwide.
