Celebrating Excellence in Science

The CGIAR paid tribute to eight world-class researchers or research teams during the opening session of the Stakeholder Meeting of its Annual General Meeting. Their achievements are helping reduce hunger, poverty and environmental degradation throughout the developing world.

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz and Katherine Sierra, CGIAR Chair and World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development, joined former CGIAR Chairs and special guests in presenting the 2006 CGIAR Science Awards to the individuals and teams indicated below.

Click here to view Photo Gallery of Award Recipients

• The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT, its acronym in Spanish) won the prestigious CGIAR 2006 King Baudouin Award for outstanding research resulting in stress-tolerant maize varieties for sub-Saharan Africa. Many farmers across the continent have adopted the improved varieties, resulting in improved food security and enhanced rural livelihoods. In partnership with local communities, CIMMYT undertook one of the largest plant breeding experiments in Africa, developing a practical, low-cost breeding methodology that is recognized as a valuable tool for national agricultural research systems throughout the developing world.
• Ram P. Thakur of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) received the Outstanding Scientist Award for helping to combat major diseases affecting key cereal crops, such as pearl millet and sorghum, by developing new disease-resistant hybrid crops that avert hunger and economic losses throughout India.
• Thomas Dubois of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) received the Promising Young Scientist Award for developing pest- and disease-resistant bananas in the Great Lakes Region of Eastern Africa. An innovative public-private partnership has helped deliver the improved varieties to farmers.
• Bir Bahadur Singh of IITA was named Outstanding Senior Scientist for his work to improve food security, nutrition, and farmers' incomes in the tropics by developing improved varieties of cowpea and sustainable cropping systems. Cowpea, one of Africa's most versatile crops, feeds people and livestock, and improves soil fertility.
• A team of authors led by Malcolm J. Gardner, formerly with the Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR), received the Outstanding Scientific Article Award for an article in Science in 2005. The article suggests that researchers have reached a milestone in developing a vaccine against East Coast Fever, a disease that kills one million cattle each year in sub-Saharan Africa. The authors work at the International Livestock Research Center (ILRI) and five partner organizations, in addition to TIGR.
• Eleven CGIAR Centers managing genebanks shared the Outstanding Partnership Award for effective stewardship of more than 600,000 samples of plant genetic resources held in trust for the world community. The genebanks are vital for achieving food security and protecting plant genetic diversity. They represent the most important international effort to safeguard the world's agricultural legacy.
• Luz Marina Alvare of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and her team of information managers, professionals and researchers across the CGIAR received the Outstanding Scientific Support Award for the launch of the CGIAR Virtual Library. By providing "one-stop shopping" for comprehensive information from the CGIAR and other sources, the Virtual Library improves researchers' access to knowledge and helps strengthen agricultural research capacity.
• Patrick Maundu of Biodiversity International received the Outstanding Communications Award for an innovative and highly effective campaign to promote the consumption of micronutrient-rich African leafy vegetables. Sales of the traditional leafy greens increased by more than 1100 percent in Nairobi supermarkets during the first two years of the project.