Ludwig Earns Graduate Research Honors

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Till Ludwig, a Bumpers College graduate and the 2013 Hans H. Ruthenberg Graduate Award winner.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Till Ludwig, a graduate of the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas, recently received the 2013 Hans H. Ruthenberg Graduate Award for outstanding master’s thesis in the field of food security.

Ludwig received his United States-European Union Atlantis double master’s degrees in agricultural economics and rural development in 2012 from the Bumpers College’s department of agricultural economics and agribusiness, and from an EU university consortium administered by the department of agricultural economics and faculty of bioscience engineering at the University of Ghent in Belgium. The Atlantis Program was initiated with competitive grants by the U.S. Department of Education and the EU European Commission to develop double-degree programs between U.S. and EU-based universities.

The Fiat Panis Foundation at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, Germany, selected Ludwig’s thesis as the winner.

His research, “Impact of Hybrid Rice on Food Security: A Spatial Equilibrium Analysis of Global Adoption and Diffusion of Hybrid Rice Varieties,” was supervised by U of A distinguished professor in agricultural economics and agribusiness Eric Wailes.

Ludwig’s research generated value chain models to estimate the impact of differential rates of adoption of hybrid rice on food security for a set of Asian countries.

“The adoption of hybrid rice as an agricultural innovation can have a positive impact on food security,” said Ludwig.

Although population is projected to increase dramatically in the future and consequently affecting the food supply in insecure areas, his study supports the position that hybrid rice can improve consumption per capita between 0.17 percent and 7.62 percent, especially in countries dependent on rice as a staple food crop.

“I am honored to be selected as the recipient for this award,” said Ludwig. “This is also a great encouragement to continue research in this area.”

His results have been accepted for publication by the International Rice Research Institute.

Ludwig is employed at GIZ (Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit, or the Society for International Cooperation) in Frankfurt, Germany. GIZ is dedicated to worldwide sustainable development and food security.

Ludwig, who is from Moers, Germany, is currently working as an advisor on a GIZ project on affordable nutritious foods for women. He has initiated his doctoral studies at Humboldt University in Berlin with professor Harald von Witzke. Ludwig received his bachelor’s degree in 2010 with a major in political science from the University of Bremen in Germany.