There are no miracles in agricultural production.
Interpretation
Agricultural success relies on hard work and scientific practices, not luck or chance.
Norman Borlaug's quote emphasizes the importance of scientific progress and diligent effort in agriculture rather than attributing success to miraculous events. It reflects the belief that sustainable agricultural production is the result of consistent application of scientific knowledge and techniques, which counteracts misconceptions about farming being solely reliant on natural occurrences or luck.
In practice
In a speech about farming sustainability, one might quote, 'There are no miracles in agricultural production' to emphasize the necessity of science in farming.
During the past three years spectacular progress has been made in increasing wheat, rice, and maize production in several of the most populous developing countries of southern Asia, where widespread famine appeared inevitable only five years ago
We must recognize the fact that adequate food is only the first requisite for life. For a decent and humane life, we must also provide an opportunity for good education, remunerative employment, comfortable housing, good clothing, and effective and compassionate medical care.
We are 6.6 billion people now. We can only feed 4 billion. I don't see 2 billion volunteers to disappear.
Nevertheless, the number of farmers, small as well as large, who are adopting the new seeds and new technology is increasing very rapidly, and the increase in numbers during the past three years has been phenomenal.
Africa needs roads. Roads bring know-how and fertilizer to farmers and ideas and business for commerce.
This is a basic problem, to feed 6.6 billion people. Without fertilizer, forget it. The game is over.
The chance that higher life forms might have emerged through evolutionary processes is comparable with the chance that a tornado sweeping through a junk yard might assemble a Boeing 747 from the material therein.
Of course, if one ignores contradictory observations, one can claim to have an "elegant" or "robust" theory. But it isn't science.
If we estimate dignity by immediate usefulness, agriculture is undoubtedly the first and noblest science.
Biologically inspired materials could revolutionize materials science. People looking at spider silk and abalone shells are looking for new ways to make materials better, cheaper, and with less toxic byproducts.
Science is the tool of the Western mind and with it more doors can be opened than with bare hands.
I would give absolutely nothing for the theory of Natural Selection, if it requires miraculous additions at any one stage of descent.
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