Gebisa Ejeta facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gebisa Ejeta
ISPC Science Forum 2016, by Desalegne Tadesse
Born	1950 (age 73–74) Wollonkomi, Ethiopia
Alma mater	Purdue University
Awards	World Food Prize (2009)
Scientific career
Fields	Plant breeding, Genetics

Gebisa Ejeta (born 1950) is an Ethiopian American plant breeder, geneticist and Professor at Purdue University. In 2009, he won the World Food Prize for his major contributions in the production of sorghum.

Early years

Ejeta was born in the remote village Wollonkomi, Ethiopia to Oromo parents. Encouraged by his mother, he walked 20 kilometres to the nearest elementary school every Sunday evening and spend the week there.

During primary school, Ejeta planned to study engineering when he reached college age. However, his mother convinced him he could do more working in agriculture. With assistance from the Oklahoma State University, he attended an agricultural and technical secondary school in Ethiopia, and also studied at what is now Haramaya University. The university and the U.S. Agency for International Development helped him earn a doctorate from Purdue University.

Working in Sudan during the early 1980s, Ejeta developed Africa's first commercial hybrid variety of sorghum tolerant to drought. Later, with a Purdue University colleague in Indiana, he discovered the chemical basis of the relationship between the deadly parasitic weed striga and sorghum, and was able to produce sorghum varieties resistant to both drought and striga.

On 2011 President Barack Obama appointed Gebisa Ejeta as Member, Board for International Food and Agricultural Development.

The National Medal of Science was awarded to Ejeta by President Biden in 2023.

Awards

• 2023 National Medal of Science - "outstanding contributions to the science of plant genetics."