Gizaw Melaku

Ethiopian climate innovator creating drought-resistant crops for African farmers

Gizaw Melaku is an Ethiopian agricultural scientist whose breakthroughs in crop genetics have transformed food security across sub-Saharan Africa. Leading the Ethiopian Seed Innovation Lab, he developed drought-tolerant teff varieties that increased yields by 40% during the 2022 Horn of Africa drought. His open-source seed bank project now serves 200,000 smallholder farmers through blockchain-enabled seed distribution networks.

Melaku's 2023 collaboration with the Gates Foundation produced a mobile app (CropWatch Africa) that uses satellite data to predict harvest failures. His methodology was adopted by Kenya's Ministry of Agriculture to protect 1.2 million hectares of farmland. The UN FAO awarded him the 2024 Global Food Security Prize for creating Africa's first climate-smart seed certification system.