— A Purdue University professor has received a $5 million grant to help develop hybrid grain seeds that will resist parasite weeds. Ejeta grew up in a one-room thatched hut in Ethiopia and eventually became a professor at Purdue. He developed a hybrid sorghum seed that’s drought-tolerant and resistant to striga, which strips food sources from its nutrients. He also received the 2009 World Food Prize for his work after spending 15 years designing the hybrid seed. More than 900 tons of sorghum seed have been distributed to more than 400,000 farmers in Ethiopia and Tanzania.

Source: National Post November 19, 2017 14:15 UTC