Gebisa Ejeta named 2024 Legend of Agronomy

Addis Ababa, August 28, 2024 (FBC) – Purdue University named Ethiopian American scientist Gebisa Ejeta, Professor of Plant Breeding and Genetics and International Agriculture, 2024 Legend of Agronomy.

“We are very proud to count today’s Legend of Agronomy among our numbers. Gebisa Ejeta is world renown for his research on sorghum, and is the recipient of multiple prestigious awards – most recently the Order of the Griffin, and the National Medal of Science,”

Professor Gebisa Ejeta received the Purdue University’s highest award from President Chiang.

Recall Professor Gebisa received the National Medal of Science, the highest state honour attainable by scientists in the United States in 2023.

US President Joe Biden said he awarded Professor Ejeta the medal for his “outstanding contributions to the science of plant genetics”.

Professor Gebisa is acclaimed as one of the world’s leading plant geneticists. He specializes in the study of sorghum, a popular source of food in Africa.

In 2009, Professor Ejeta won the prestigious World Food Prize for developing a sorghum hybrid that is resistant to both drought and the parasitic weed Striga, which commonly invades farms in Africa.