At the University of the Free State (UFS) 40th Chancellor’s Distinguished Alumni Awards, Professor Hussein Shimelis, South African Sugarcane Research Institute (SASRI) Chair of Crop Science at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) and Director of the African Centre for Crop Improvement (ACCI), was recognised as one of the University’s distinguished alumni for his considerable contributions to demand-led plant breeding research and capacity development in Africa.
The awards in several categories have been presented to a host of notable South Africans over their 40-year history, including jurists, Olympic champions, Springbok rugby stars, global ambassadors, and more. One of the country’s top public universities, UFS has educated eminent professionals, business leaders, and scholars. Award recipients are celebrated for undertaking work that has impacted communities, professions and society in South Africa, across the region and internationally.
Shimelis graduated from UFS, then the University of the Orange Free State, in 2003 with a PhD in Plant Breeding, having completed his undergraduate degree at Haramaya University in Ethiopia, where he later worked as a senior lecturer, and his master’s at Wageningen University in The Netherlands.
Shimelis gratefully acknowledged UFS for this recognition and reflected on the memories of his time at UFS that he holds dear, as well as the academic values he cultivated during his PhD journey. He thanked his UFS academic mentors and promoters, Professors Johan Spies, Zakkie Pretorius and Maryke Labuschagne.
Shimelis has focused his research on the genetic improvement of crops to achieve yield gains and enhance tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. He has an extensive network of collaborators in plant breeding research across Africa and contributes to projects including the Sorghum Cluster Initiative.
In 2025, he was named a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences and was a finalist for the National Science and Technology Forum-South32 Lifetime Award. He was recognised as one of Africa’s 20 most influential plant breeders in 2020 by the Southern Africa Plant Breeders’ Association.
A full professor of plant breeding with more than 30 years of experience in teaching and research across Africa, Shimelis joined UKZN after earning his PhD from UFS. He served as Deputy Director of the ACCI from 2014 to 2023 and was appointed Director in July 2023.
He is also a founding member and leader of the Pan-Africa Demand-led Breeding initiative, which promotes demand-driven breeding practices to increase adoption of improved crop varieties, including underutilised orphan crops, and enhance food and nutrition security.
Shimelis has consistently appeared among UKZN’s top 30 published researchers. He is a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa, an Associate Fellow of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences, and a National Research Foundation C-1 rated researcher. His citation metrics include a Google Scholar H-index of 63, a Scopus H-index of 42 and a Web of Science H-index of 35. He has supervised 64 doctoral candidates, 38 master’s students and 11 honours students in plant breeding from eastern, southern and western Africa.
Words: Christine Cuénod
Photograph: Supplied