Posted: Apr 24, 2011
President Obama has announced his intent to appoint two World Food Prize laureates to the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD). He has named 2009 World Food Prize Laureate Gebisa Ejeta and 2010 World Food Prize Laureate Jo Luck.
Two other experts with ties to the World Food Prize have have also served on this critical board: 2003 World Food Prize Laureate Catherine Bertini is a past member; and Council of Advisors member Peter McPherson is a past chairman of the board.
Gebisa Ejeta is currently a Professor at Purdue University and serves as the Executive Director of the Purdue Center for Global Food Security. He previously served as Principal Plant Breeder for the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics assigned to Sudan. Dr. Ejeta serves on the Consortium Board of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research, the Sasakawa Africa Association, and the Chicago Council for Global Affairs Agricultural Development Program. He is a Fellow of the American Association of the Advancement of Sciences, the Crop Science Society of Agronomy, and the American Society of Agronomy. Dr. Ejeta was the recipient of the 2009 World Food Prize. He holds a B.S. in Plant Sciences from Alemaya College of Agriculture in Ethiopia, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Plant Genetics and Breeding from Purdue University.
Jo Luck is President of Heifer International, a global organization working to end hunger and poverty. She previously served as president/CEO of Heifer International beginning in 1992 until 2010. During her academic tenure, she attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where she served on the Executive Committee of the Alumni Advisory Board, and the Harvard Business School’s Executive Education Session on Governing for Nonprofit Excellence. Jo Luck was co-recipient of the 2010 World Food Prize. She holds a B.A. from Lipscomb College and honorary doctorates from several colleges and universities.
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Read the full news release here.
Video: Professor Gebisa Ejeta on Revitalizing agricultural research for global food security (IDRC)