Dr Ignatius Angarawai Honored with Prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award
Institutional News
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Abuja, Nigeria — The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is delighted to announce that Dr Ijantiku Ignatius Angarawai, a distinguished leader in plant breeding and a pivotal figure in advancing agricultural research across Nigeria and the West African sub-region, has been awarded the Nigerian Plant Breeders Association’s Prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.
Dr Angarawai received this honor during the Opening Ceremony of the Second International Conference of the Nigerian Plant Breeders Association, held at the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Conference Centre in Abuja on Wednesday, 18 September 2024.
Dr Angarawai serves as ICRISAT's Country Representative for Nigeria and as a Senior Scientist in Genetics and Crop Breeding within the Accelerated Crop Improvement (ACI) program, based in Kano, Nigeria. He earned his PhD in Crop breeding from Modibo Adamawa University (Federal University of Technology) in Yola, Nigeria.
Driven by a passion for leveraging technology in agriculture, Dr Angarawai specializes in enhancing the potential of dryland cereals and legumes. His work spans a wide range of crop improvement activities, including product design, development, release, deployment, seed systems, and the creation of nutrition-sensitive recipes for biofortified and climate-resilient crop varieties.
Dr Angarawai has played a key role in the development and release of 16 nutrition-sensitive and climate-resilient varieties, including 9 sorghum varieties—most notably SAMSORG 52, a climate-smart dwarf sorghum—and 7 pearl millet varieties, with the 2023 release of the iron-rich LCICMV 5 (CHAKTI). These varieties, now widely grown across the Sahelian agro-ecology, are recognized for their dense micronutrient content and their value as food, nutrition, and fodder crops, contributing significantly to food security and malnutrition reduction among resource-limited households in drylands.
Dr Angarawai shares his extensive experience through numerous conferences, over 100 published journal articles, training manuals, and book chapters. His research, particularly during the 2023 International Year of Millet, has driven a paradigm shift towards increased millet production and consumption.
Committed to ensuring sustainable impact, he adopted the Farmer Field School approach, training over 3,000 extension workers and community-based seed producers, improving livelihoods in the process. Dr Angarawai has also contributed to resource mobilization, implemented over 15 projects, and mentored 7 PhD candidates, all while remaining at the forefront of agricultural innovation.
Reflecting on the remarkable achievement, Dr Rebbie Harawa, ICRISAT's Africa Director, said the award highlights Dr Angarawai's transformative contributions to agriculture, particularly in plant breeding, where his work continues to yield significant outcomes for food and nutrition security and agricultural sustainability across the region.
"This recognition underscores Dr Angarawai’s commitment to advancing scientific excellence and his enduring legacy in the field. On behalf of ICRISAT, we celebrate his well-deserved professional recognition and look forward to the continued success of his groundbreaking work," said Dr Harawa.
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