Washington, DC
June 11, 2009
Dr.
Gebisa Ejeta of Ethiopia has been named winner of the
$250,000 World Food
Prize for his monumental contributions in the production of
sorghum, one of the world’s five principal cereal grains, which
have dramatically enhanced the food supply of hundreds of
millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa.
Secretary of
State Hillary Rodham Clinton was the featured speaker as
Dr. Ejeta was announced as the 2009 Laureate at a ceremony at
the U.S. State Department on June 11 that also featured
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, World Food Prize
President Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn, and World Food
Prize Chairman John Ruan III, among others.
Dr. Ejeta’s
personal journey would lead him from a childhood in a one-room
thatched hut in rural Ethiopia to the height of scientific
acclaim as a distinguished professor, plant breeder, and
geneticist at Purdue University. His work with sorghum, which is
a staple in the diet of 500 million people living in sub-Saharan
Africa, began in Ethiopia in the 1970s. Working in Sudan in the
early 1980s, he developed Hageen Dura-1, the first ever
commercial hybrid sorghum in Africa. This hybrid variety was
tolerant to drought and out-yielded traditional varieties by up
to 150 percent.
Dr. Ejeta
next turned his attention to battling the scourge of Striga,
a deadly parasitic weed which devastates farmers’ crops and
severely limits food availability. Working with a colleague at
Purdue University, he discovered the biochemical basis of
Striga’s relationship with sorghum, and was able to produce
many sorghum varieties resistant to both drought and Striga.
In 1994, eight tons of Dr. Ejeta’s drought and Striga-resistant
sorghum seeds were distributed to Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya,
Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan,
Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Yield increases were as much as four
times the yield of local varieties, even in severe drought
areas.
“By ridding
Africa of the greatest biological impediment to food production,
Dr. Ejeta has put himself in the company of some of the greatest
researchers and scientists recognized by this award over the
past 23 years,” said Vilsack. “The Obama Administration is
inspired by the tireless efforts of Dr. Ejeta has demonstrated
in the battle to eliminate food insecurity and is committed to
employing a comprehensive approach to tackle the scourge of
world hunger.”
Dr. Ejeta’s
scientific breakthroughs in breeding drought-tolerant and
Striga-resistant sorghum have been combined with his
persistent efforts to foster economic development and the
empowerment of subsistence farmers through the creation of
agricultural enterprises in rural Africa. He has led his
colleagues in working with national and local authorities and
nongovernmental agencies so that smallholder farmers and rural
entrepreneurs can catalyze efforts to improve crop productivity,
strengthen nutritional security, increase the value of
agricultural products, and boost the profitability of
agricultural enterprise – thus fostering profound impacts on
lives and livelihoods on broader scale across the African
continent.
“Even
while he was making breakthroughs in the lab, Dr. Ejeta took his
work to the field,” said Clinton. “He knew that for his improved
seeds to make a difference in people’s lives, farmers would have
to use them – which meant they would need access to a seed
market and the credit to buy supplies.”
“Dr. Ejeta’s
accomplishments in improving sorghum illustrate what can be
achieved when cutting-edge technology and international
cooperation in agriculture are used to uplift and empower the
world’s most vulnerable people,” added Dr. Norman E. Borlaug,
founder of the World Food Prize. “His life is as an inspiration
for young scientists around the world.”
The 2009
World Food Prize will be formally presented to Dr. Ejeta at a
ceremony at the Iowa State Capitol on October 15, 2009. The
ceremony will be held as part of the World Food Prize’s
2009 Borlaug Dialogue, which focuses on “Food, Agriculture
and National Security in a Globalized World.” Further
information about the Laureate Award Ceremony and Symposium can
be found at
www.worldfoodprize.org. |
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