Dr Jonathan H Crouch, the Biotechnology Global Theme Leader for the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), has won the Promising Young Scientist Award for 2003 from the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Dr Crouch received the award from Mr Ian Johnson, CGIAR Chairman and Vice President of the World Bank, at the Annual General Meeting of the CGIAR, held at Nairobi in end October.

Dr William Dar, Director General of ICRISAT, said that while the CGIAR's decision to recognise Dr Crouch was a fitting recognition of the young scientist's remarkable personal achievements, it was also testimony of the efforts of the team of ICRISAT scientists who support him. Crouch leads a cutting-edge team of biotechnologists who seek to improve crops that provide livelihood support to millions of poor farmers in the semi-arid tropics of Africa and Asia.

The CGIAR Promising Young Scientist Award is presented every year to a scientist or researcher from one of the 16 CGIAR centres, no older than 35 years of age, who in addition to research excellence has demonstrated commitment to the developmental goals of the CGIAR.

Accepting the award, Dr Crouch said, “I accept this award on behalf of my bright young team and our partners across disciplines, institutions, sectors and continents. I accept this award as a reflection of the power of partnerships and of diverse open-minded ideas.”

As the leader of the team of scientists working on biotechnology at ICRISAT, Jonathan Crouch established a state-of-the art genotyping lab with a throughput potential unsurpassed in the public sector plant breeding community in the developing world. The group has also created centralized facilities for genomics, transgenics, bioinformatics, physiology and intellectual property management.

Crouch's team has also made substantial strides towards building partnerships with the private sector through the establishment of an Agri-Business Incubator and an Agri-Biotech Park.

Partnerships were also built with the other CGIAR centers. The genomics activities have been decentralized into Africa – both in Kenya in collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and in Mali (in collaboration with the International Cooperation Centre for Agronomic Research for Development).