This year was no different, except that the occasion was made all the more memorable with Hon. Moody Awori, Vice President of the Republic of Kenya, presenting the awards to the winners.

"Science and technology are shaping our lives in myriad ways," said Ian Johnson, CGIAR Chairman and World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development. "This year's awards demonstrate how CGIAR scientists are making tangible improvements in the lives of farmers, adding to the stock of knowledge that will increase incomes while promoting prudent use of biodiversity and soil and water resources."

The winners of the CGIAR Science Awards are:

Dr. Abdul Mujeeb Kazi of CIMMYT was named Outstanding Scientist for generating and making available new genetic diversity for wheat improvement. He has created numerous complex combinations in the wheat family, including interspecific hybrids across the wheat genomes. This wealth of genetic variation has been widely distributed and made available to the global scientific community.

Dr. Jonathan Crouch of ICRISAT was honored as Promising Young Scientist for leading an effort to develop the upstream biotechnology and genetic enhancement program at ICRISAT. He has championed holistic, multidisciplinary approaches to resolving previously intractable problems through multi-sector biotechnology-based partnerships and was instrumental in establishing the Applied Genomics Laboratory at ICRISAT.

The Outstanding Scientific Article was awarded jointly to two papers:
- "Dietary Aflaxtoxin Exposure and Impaired Growth in Young Children from Benin and Togo: Cross-sectional Study" by Y.Y. Gong, K. Cardwell, A. Hounsa, S. Egal, P.C. Turner, A.J. Hall, and C.P. Wild published in the British Medical Journal on July 6, 2003. This research points to the need to address aflatoxin contamination in stored food grains ù particularly maize and groundnuts ù in warm and humid areas of West Africa ù authors Cardwell, Hounsa and Egal are from IITA

- "African Pastoralism: Genetic Imprints of Origins and Migrations" by Olivier Hanotte, Daniel G. Bradley, Joel W. Ochieng, Yasmin Verjee, Emmeline W. Hill, J. Edward O. Rege and published in Science on April 12, 2002. The paper is the first continent-wide study of the genetic diversity of cattle in Africa. Based on seven years of research, it represents a landmark in work to characterize, conserve, and better use indigenous animal genetic resources for the benefit of the continent's poor - authors Hanotte, Ochieng, Verjee and Rege are from ILRI.

The Outstanding Partnership Award recognizes the Vitamin A for Africa program, coordinated by the CIP under its Director General, Hubert Zandstra, for its work with 44 local and international development organizations implementing the program in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. VITAA is a research and public health initiative that aims to combat widespread vitamin A deficiency by promoting the growth and consumption of new varieties of orange-fleshed sweet potatoes that have high levels of beta-carotene which the body uses to make vitamin A, along with taste and texture characteristics preferred by African consumers.

The Outstanding Scientific Support Award was given to IRRI's Genetic Resources Center Support Team and Ron Cantrell for contributing to effective and efficient operation of IRRI's rice genebank, one of the largest in the network of genebanks supported by the CGIAR. The national support team is primarily responsible for storing, testing, multiplying, characterizing, distributing, and documenting seed samples. Flora de Guzman received the award on behalf of the group. IRRI has received this award three years in a row.