Professor Hussein Shimelis, Director of the African Centre for Crop Improvement (ACCI) and South African Sugarcane Research Institute (SASRI) Chair in Crop Science in the School of Agriculture and Science, has been appointed a member of the Governing Board of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) for a term beginning in January 2026.
ICRISAT is a global research institute for dryland agriculture, focusing on dryland farming and agri-food systems. It develops and disseminates agricultural technologies and innovations to address the challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and environmental degradation affecting around 2.1 billion people, mainly in the drylands of Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Appointed for his expertise and background in, and contributions to, plant breeding and plant science in Africa and globally, Shimelis’s role will be to provide insight and guidance to ICRISAT and contribute to its strategic goals.
“I hope that my background, skillsets, and experience on the continent, including leadership in training and capacity development within the African crop breeding community, could contribute meaningfully to the Board,” said Shimelis of his appointment.
This role aligns with work Shimelis has championed throughout his more than 30 years of research and teaching experience, particularly through the efforts of the ACCI, which he served first as Deputy Director and currently as Director, and which has actively worked on demand-led plant breeding and crop science in Africa, focusing on African food security crops, in collaboration with scientists, researchers and stakeholders from ICRISAT and globally for over 15 years.
Recent accolades Shimelis has earned include Fellowship of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), Member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), selection as a finalist for the National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF)-South32 Lifetime Award, election as an Associate Fellow of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences under its Agricultural Sciences Working Group, recognition for the eighth consecutive year as one of UKZN’s top 30 published researchers, and recognition as one of Africa’s 20 most influential plant breeders of 2020 by the Southern Africa Plant Breeders’ Association.
He is a founding member and leader of the Pan-Africa Demand-led Breeding initiative, which promotes demand-driven breeding practices to increase adoption of improved crop varieties – including underutilised orphan crops – and enhance food and nutrition security.
Shimelis is passionate about plant breeding, plant genetics, and crop science education, achieving his own BSc in plant sciences from Haramaya University in Ethiopia, his MSc in plant breeding from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, and his PhD in plant breeding from the University of the Free State. He has supervised 64 doctoral, 38 master’s and 11 honours students in plant breeding from eastern, southern and western Africa.
Shimelis, who holds a C1-rating from South Africa’s National Research Foundation and has over 400 peer-reviewed publications to his name, is consistently recognised for his impressive research record, outstanding contributions to his profession, international stature as a scholar and service to the community. He has been recognised as one of the top five most cited researchers in 2024 at UKZN.
Words: Christine Cuénod
Photograph: Supplied.