Professor Tekalign Mamo wins the 2014 Yara Prize

     The Yara Prize 2014 is being awarded to Ethiopian Professor Tekalign Mamo Assefa. Professor Tekalign is currently a State Minister and adviser to the Ethiopian Minister of Agriculture, and he has long been a key contributor to the country’s food security, soil health and natural resources programs.

     Jørgen Ole Haslestad, President and CEO of Yara and Chairman of the Yara Prize Committee, said “Professor Mamo stands out for his remarkable effort across levels, but always rooted in a profound understanding of how transformation must always include the farmer. As a scientist, leader and practitioner, Professor Mamo’s innovative and inclusive efforts have been instrumental in lifting millions of farmers’ income.”

    He has endeavored to improve the livelihoods of Ethiopian farmers, leveraging his scientific knowledge and exhibiting leadership over the past three decades, and developing targeted interventions for management of waterlogged soils, rehabilitating acidic soils and degraded landscapes, winning farmer acceptance of technologies and modernizing Ethiopia’s fertilizer advisory service have been important hallmarks of his engagement.

    The Yara Prize Committee focused on the future of farming in Africa for 2014, with special attention being given to food and nutrition security and the twin challenges of employment and income generation, and the Yara Prize Ceremony  held in Addis Ababa, , on 3 September in connection with the African Green Revolution Forum 2014. The Prize Professor Tekalign received consists of USD 60,000, a crystal trophy and a diploma.

    Born in 1956 in Lekemt, Ethiopia, Professor Mamo graduated as Ph.D. in Soil chemistry and fertility at Aberdeen University, Scotland. From a strong academic basis, Professor Mamo has expanded beyond a purely academic role. In 1985, he and a team of experts launched a national project to improve the country’s vast clay soils, especially those that get waterlogged and impair crop productivity. The results have benefited millions of farmers to date.

  Professor Mamo’s achievements have also led to his position as one of 13 global commissioners for Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security, and him serving as one of 27 leading global experts in the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils. He still guides and supervises graduate students, and he is the founder of the Ethiopian Journal of Natural Resources.

   

   The late Prime Minister Meles Zienawi in 2005 & Dr. Eleni Gabre-Madhin in 2012 have received Yara Prize. The Yara Prize for an African Green Revolution seeks to contribute to the transformation of African agriculture and food availability, within a sustainable context, thereby helping to reduce hunger and poverty.