Ethiopian-born scientist Gebisa Ejeta has received the National Medal of Science, the highest state honour attainable by scientists in the United States.
US President Joe Biden said he awarded Mr Ejeta the medal for his “outstanding contributions to the science of plant genetics”.
Mr Ejeta 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, Mr 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. Sorghum is the fifth-most important cereal crop globally – after maize, wheat, rice and barley. […] CONTINUE READING
