Plant scientist Dr. Gebisa Ejeta was awarded the 2009 World Food Prize for his development of drought resistant sorghum seeds, which have helped African farmers increase their crop yield. The $250,000 prize is awarded each year by the World Food Prize Foundation, which was established by Norman Borlaug, known as the “Father of the Green Revolution.”
Dr. Ejeta hails from Ethiopia, where his work has had a particular impact in easing famine conditions that frequently afflict his home country. Hybrid sorghum seed that he developed in the 1980’s created a yield 150% greater than natural seeds. Upon creating a sorghum seed resistant to the Striga parasite, yields were quadrupled.
Dr. Ejeta’s work at Purdue University was funded by the United States Agency for Development (USAID) as part of its Sorghum, Millet and Other Grains (SMOG) initiative.
Bill Gates, in his capacity as co-chair and trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, congratulated Dr. Ejeta and called for more aid to small farmers saying that to “…grow more crops and get them to market is the world’s single most powerful lever for reducing hunger and poverty.”
