When three CIP scientists received the World Food Prize in late 2016, it ushered in a new era of recognition for our scientific prowess both in conducting research and in working with multiple partners.
The World Food Prize underscores how “the proper combination of sound biological sciences and social sciences pays off,” says Hugo Campos, director of research at CIP. The Prize was awarded to three CIP scientists – Dr. Maria Andrade, Dr. Jan Low and Dr. Robert Mwanga – for their roles in getting biofortified orange-fleshed sweetpotato into the diets of millions of Africans. A fourth recipient was Dr. Howarth Bouis, founder of HarvestPlus.
CIP’s work also garnered acclaim from the Al-Sumait Prize for African Development and Health and Food Security offered by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences. The Prize recognized CIP and its sister CGIAR Center, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, for the organizations’ joint work in bringing orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) into millions of households in Sub-Saharan Africa.
These awards highlight “how well CIP scientists have developed the ability to work closely with our partners not just to achieve agronomic impacts and nutritional gains, but something even more important: improving the quality of life for people,” says Campos.
