2018 GCHERA World Agriculture Prize Award Ceremony Held in Nanjing Agricultural University -- Award Granted to Eric Yirenkyi Danquah and Rattan Lal

NANJING, China, Nov. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On October 28, the 2018 GCHERA World Agriculture Prize (WAP) Ceremony and the "Belt and Road" Cooperation Forum on Agricultural Education and Research were held in Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU). Eric Yirenkyi Danquah, professor of the University of Ghana and Rattan Lal, professor of Ohio State University, won the 2018 World Agriculture Prize for their outstanding achievements in crop breeding and soil sustainable management.

More than 100 leaders, experts of agricultural-related universities from 15 countries including the United States, Canada, and South Africa etc., gathered in NAU. Together with nearly 1,000 faculties and students from NAU, they took the opportunity of the WAP Ceremony to discuss global agricultural research and education innovation in life sciences.

Prof. Danquah has long been committed to the breeding development and promotion of local high-quality crop varieties. Three high-yielding maize hybrids released in Ghana have significantly improved corn productivity. In 2007, he promoted the establishment of the West Africa Center for Crop Improvement (WACCI) at the University of Ghana. Prof. Danquah promoted the University of Ghana to establish an international master's degree in seed science and biotechnology center, making the University of Ghana one of the best endowed, focused and supported higher educational institutions for agriculture and the life sciences in all Sub-Saharan Africa.

Prof. Lal has long been concerned about agroecosystems and the sustainable management of soil resources, and believes that "the health of soil, plants, animals, humans and ecological areas is an inseparable whole". 40 years ago, he carried out the world's first research on the effects of deforestation on climate, oil and crop growth. Since 1987, he has been working to improve crop output and quality, reduce chemical use, mitigate climate change and restore soil health by regulating the storage and management of organic carbon concentrations in the soil.

WAP is an international award established by Global Confederation of Higher Education Associations for Agricultural and Life Sciences (GCHERA). The prize aims to encourage individuals who have made outstanding contributions to education, research and innovation in agricultural and life sciences. It includes agriculture, forestry, natural resources, food, bio-based products, biomass energy, rural development, natural environment and other fields.

WAP was formally proposed by both Prof. Zhai Huqu, former President of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and Prof. Zhou Guanghong, President of NAU on October 20, 2012 on NAU's 110th anniversary. It was approved by the General Assembly at the GCHERA Executive Committee Uruguay meeting on October 29, 2012. The GCHERA WAP has been awarded six times in succession, which has exerted a wide range of influence at home and abroad, contributing to global exchange and cooperation in related fields, and has inspired international scientists on innovation in agriculture and life sciences around the world.

For more information, please visit: http://wapcn.njau.edu.cn/