MONITORING REPORT PARIS: Dr. Abdul Rashid of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences, Islamabad, is the 2013 laureate of the IFA Norman Borlaug Award. Dr. Rashid, nominated by Asif Ali of En- gro Fertilizer, is the 21st recipient of the award. Dr. Rashid is a highly accomplished crop nutritionist and a distinguished soil fertility expert. His 40-year career has been devoted to well-conceived research programmes for optimizing crop nutrition through balanced and efficient fertilizer use, applicable to the worlds calcareous soils. While he has worked extensively in the broad area of cost-effective fertilizer use, his career has largely been de- fined by his work on micronutrients, soil testing and plant analysis. His many outstanding contributions include the identification, establishment and correction of field-scale boron deficiency in 2 million hectares of flooded rice fields and 3 million hectares of cotton grown on calcareous soils in Pakistan. Dr. Rashids research out- comes have been published – nationally and internationally – in peer-reviewed journals and books, at conferences, and using other advisory materials. His research-based technologies have been promoted effectively through field demonstrations in collaboration with the fertilizer industry, as well as through local-language brochures and magazine articles. Dr. Rashids persistent re- search and development activities and convincing advocacy have created a “pull force” for the use of micronutrient fertilizers in that country.