Prince Sithiporn Kridakara (
Thai: หม่อมเจ้าสิทธิพร กฤดากร; April 11, 1883 – June 22, 1971) is known as
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
's ''Farmer Prince''
who was awarded the 1967
Ramon Magsaysay Award
The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, ...
for
Public service
A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing available to private busin ...
for his efforts in the development of Thai
agriculture
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
. While serving as chairman of the
International Rice Commission, he was instrumental for the establishment of the
International Rice Research Institute
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is an international agricultural research and training organization with its headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna, in the Philippines, and offices in seventeen countries. IRRI is known for its w ...
in
Los Baños, Laguna
Los Baños (IPA: Help:IPA/Tagalog, ɔs bɐˈɲɔs, officially the Municipality of Los Baños (), colloquially 'elbi' or simply LB, is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Laguna (province ...
in the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
.
Personal life
Sithiporn was born on April 11, 1883, and studied in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
for most of his early years. At 18, while studying
mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...
at City and Guild's Technical College, he was summoned back to his home country to help manage the family's lime-burning business.
At 21, he married a woman who soon died but not without bearing a son. His second wife was Mom Sriphromma, daughter of the last hereditary chief of Nan. Despite his royal blood as fourth son of His Royal Highness Krida Bhinihan, the Prince Naretraworit, grandson of King Mongkut, and nephew of King Chulalongkorn, he developed a profound interest in agriculture.
This interest came about due to his wife's fragile health which required the fresh air and open spaces of the countryside.
Career and legacy
Sithiporn successfully propagated the
Nicholson Yellow Dent variety of
corn
Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...
which he encouraged other farmers to plant for animal feed. Starting 1950 when rice was not favorable to land conditions, corn was planted instead. By the 1980s, corn became one of Thailand's major exports.
He was also instrumental in the establishment of an egg producers' association which made Thailand an exporter of eggs.
When the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) established the
International Rice Commission in 1949, Sithiporn was elected as chairman. His suggestion for a research center for rice production during one of the meetings with the
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...
resulted in the establishment of the
International Rice Research Institute
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is an international agricultural research and training organization with its headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna, in the Philippines, and offices in seventeen countries. IRRI is known for its w ...
in
Los Baños, Laguna
Los Baños (IPA: Help:IPA/Tagalog, ɔs bɐˈɲɔs, officially the Municipality of Los Baños (), colloquially 'elbi' or simply LB, is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Laguna (province ...
in the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
.
Honors and awards
*
Ramon Magsaysay Award
The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, ...
, 1967 for Public Service
* Honorary Doctorate in Agriculture,
Kasetsart University
Kasetsart University (; ; commonly Kaset or KU) is a public university, public research university in Bangkok, Thailand. It is the largest university in Thailand. It was Thailand's first agriculture, agricultural university and Thailand's third ...
* Honorary member of the
Siam Society
The Siam Society Under Royal Patronage () was established in 1904 with a mission to promote knowledge of the culture, history, arts, and natural sciences of Thailand as well as those of neighbouring countries. The premises of the Society in Bangko ...
* 1983 Birth Centenary Thai postage stamp
* First Prize for rice at the 1933 World Seed and Grain Exhibition in Regina, Canada
References
External links
Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kridakara, Sithiporn
Sithiporn Kridakara
Sithiporn Kridakara
Ramon Magsaysay Award winners
Sithiporn Kridakara
1883 births
1971 deaths
Sithiporn Kridakara
Sithiporn Kridakara
Sithiporn Kridakara
Sithiporn Kridakara
19th-century Chakri dynasty
20th-century Chakri dynasty