2009 Laureate Announcment
The 2009 Laureate Announcement was held on June 11, 2009 at the U.S. State Department in Washington D.C. Dr. Gebisa Ejeta was honored for increasing the supply of one of the world’s principal grains by developing the first high-yielding hybrid sorghum plants, resistant both to drought and attack from Striga—a parasitic weed plaguing 40 percent of Africa’s arable land. His achievement enhanced food security for hundreds of millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa.