An Israeli scientist who has reached across political and ethnic boundaries to help dozens of countries in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South America improve agriculture with new irrigation methods will receive the World Food Prize, Haaretz reported Tuesday, June 12. Daniel Hillel, who is credited with developing drip irrigation methods that conserve water while allowing food to be grown in some of the world’s driest climates, was named the winner of this year’s $250,000 prize during a ceremony in Washington. “It is significant that Dr. Hillel’s nomination for the World Food Prize contained letters of support from individuals and organizations in Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates,” World Food Prize Foundation President Kenneth Quinn said. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday honored Dr. Hillel at a special event at the State Department. She called him “a master of applying new thinking to old problems.”