Professor John Porter, internationally renowned scientist in crop ecology and physiology, biological modelling and agricultural ecology, has been made a Knight of the Order of Agricultural Merit – France’s highest accolade in the area of agriculture – which is given to people who have made exceptional contributions to agriculture via theory, innovation or practice. The Ordre du Mérite Agricole was started in 1883, in recognition of the importance of agriculture to the French people and economy – an importance that continues to this day – and was considered the second highest French honour after the Légion d’Honneur.
Professor Porter’s outstanding contributions to agriculture include his pioneering work on the development of crop simulation models, now regarded as an innovative method central to guiding research identifying new crop phenotypes, and on the impacts of and adaptation to climate change and carbon mitigation, for the benefit of food security and agriculture locally, regionally and globally. He is also well known for his multi-disciplinary work on the response of arable crops, energy crops and complex agro-ecosystems to their environment with an emphasis on climate change, agronomy and ecosystem services.
Despite Professor Porter’s work on simulation models that predict how crops respond to environmental factors, he did not foresee being awarded this prestigious title. “I was extremely honoured and surprised when I learned that I would be bestowed with this honour”, he said. “My mother’s family originated from France and Germany and were immigrants into Liverpool in the 1880s – so this award comes full circle and was very unexpected.” He also offered thanks to the institutions that have supported him over the years. He currently holds a professorship in Climate and Food Security at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and professorships in Climate and Agriculture at Lincoln University, New Zealand and NRI, University of Greenwich, UK. At NRI, where developing-country agriculture is one of our key areas of work, Professor Porter has contributed by helping NRI raise its research profile in the UK and also contributed to the supervision of PhD students in four African countries.
At the award ceremony on the 1st March at the French Embassy in Denmark, Professor Porter was presented with a medal in the form of a six-pointed silver star resting on a gilt wreath of wheat and corn – pointing towards Professor Porter’s work with these crops, and highlighting his role as member of the Independent Steering Committee of the CGIAR Research Program on WHEAT, led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). Professor Porter is also Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences, Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Forestry and Agriculture, Editor-in-Chief of the European Journal of Agronomy, member of the Science Advisory Council of France’s National Institute of Agronomical Research (INRA), and recipient of three international prizes for his research and teaching.
Together with NRI’s Professor John Morton, Professor Porter was a Coordinating Lead Author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 5th Assessment Report, making NRI the only Higher Education institute in the UK with two Coordinating Lead Authors. This report formed the scientific bedrock of negotiations during COP21 in December 2015 – the 21st Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – where delegates signed the historic plan to reduce global warming known as the Paris Agreement. Professor Porter considers this experience a highlight of his career.
It is very rare for a non-French citizen to be a recipient of this award. In his acceptance speech, Professor Porter highlighted the links between his own personal history, agriculture, and France, citing his family history, his knowledge of French literature, his love of the French countryside and his selfless support for the French wine industry. He stated, “France has had an extremely important role in the development of agriculture and food production in Europe and the world. The production of food serves one of the most basic human needs, and this award and its history recognizes that fact.”
Standing on the shoulders of fellow recipients of the Order of Agricultural Merit, Professor Porter looks to the future of scientific agricultural research, with hopes to tackle the growing problem of food security, now higher than ever on the international agenda.
Links: Professor Porter’s NRI profile | University of Copenhagen press release | CGIAR WHEAT press release |