The award for “Outstanding Service in Agriculture” was presented at Iowa Agricultural Leaders Dinner last week.
Sehgal Foundation, based in Des Moines, Iowa, has won the fifth annual Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Leader Award for Outstanding Service in Agriculture.
Jay Sehgal, a trustee of the foundation, received award on behalf of the organization from Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey at the Iowa Agricultural Leaders Dinner on the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines on March 7, according to a press release.
The Agriculture Leader Awards were created by Northey with the goal of honoring and celebrating Iowa citizens, companies, and organizations that have contributed to Iowa’s agriculture industry in leadership roles in innovation, conservation, service, and collaboration.
Sehgal Foundation was founded by prominent Indian American entrepreneur and philanthropist Suri Sehgal and his wife, Edda.
Jay Sehgal credited the foundation’s many agriculture partnerships for receiving the award — especially the collaborative work with Mosaic Fertilizer Company and Mosaic Foundation.
With strong partnerships, Sehgal Foundation teams in India and Iowa continue to design and promote rural development interventions that create opportunities, build resilience, and provide solutions to some of the most pressing challenges in India’s poorest communities, he said in the press release.
Working with communities, the foundation creates and implements programs that increase agricultural productivity, manage water resources, strengthen rural governance, and empower the poor, especially women, he added.
Sehgal pointed out the foundation was able to build connect Iowa and India. He termed Northey “a longtime friend” of the foundation, who has visited Sehgal Foundation in Gurgaon, India, and met with representatives from India when they visit Iowa.
The foundation’s endowment partnership with the Iowa State University has brought students from India, Nepal and Bhutan to the Hawkeye state. A partnership with the University of Iowa’s WINTERIM program has brought engineering students to India to study groundwater salinity. A partnership with the World Food Prize has brought interns to India each year, the release said.
In addition to the Sehgal Foundation, three other groups were honored at the event. They are Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy Science Team for “Leadership in Conservation”; The Coalition to Support Iowa Farmers for “Leadership in Collaboration,” and the Sukup Manufacturing for “Leadership in Innovation.”
All four winners were honored for their progress, innovative solutions, commitment to serving our communities through collaboration and hard work, and because they epitomize the values of Iowa agriculture that make the state a national and global leader, the release said.