The Board of Trustees of Al-Sumait Prize for African Development, chaired by His Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Sabah, announced that Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo (CIMMYT) won the 2025 Al-Sumait Prize in the field of food security which recognizes organizations whose work has produced transformative, life-saving impact in Africa. This distinction celebrates CIMMYT’s decades of science-driven contributions to food security, agricultural resilience, and the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers across the continent.
According to the Board of Trustees, CIMMYT, led by its Director General Bart Govaerts, won the Prize for CIMMYT’s contributions to the genetic improvement of staple crops such as maize and wheat have had a transformative effect on food security and resilience for smallholder farmers and their families. CIMMYT has worked for more than five decades to turn scientific innovation into real-world humanitarian impact. Through the development and scaling of stress-tolerant crop varieties (including drought-tolerant maize and climate-resilient wheat) the organization has helped farming communities survive and recover from shocks such as droughts, floods, and pest outbreaks. In 2025 alone, CIMMYT supported tens of thousands of African farmers in planting climate-resilient crops to withstand the effects of El Niño, demonstrating the direct link between agricultural science and humanitarian response.
The Board added that CIMMYT is a distinguished and worthy laureate, with few organizations equaling its pedigree or scale of influence within Africa’s agricultural landscape. Its mission, “Science and innovation for a food and nutrition secure world,” aligns directly with the objectives of the Al-Sumait Prize. CIMMYT’s achievements in maize and wheat research across the continent represent an enormous and lasting contribution to food and nutrition security in Africa.
On its part, Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS), which supervises the Prize, stated that CIMMYT, winner of the Prize, has demonstrated a long-term positive impact and introduced innovative programs for many Africans, in addition to its creative response to food security issues and challenges.
KFAS also added that, through this Prize, the State of Kuwait has aided organizations working in and for Africa to distinguish themselves through their exemplary and effective projects and programs, not to mention their dedication to improving food security for communities across Africa. According to KFAS, the Prize, the current year, received 81 nominations from 27 countries.
It is noteworthy that the annual Al-Sumait Prize for African Development was launched at the noble initiative of the late Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, may Allah rest his soul, during the Arab African Summit hosted by Kuwait in 2013. Launching the Prize came in honor of the late Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Sumait, the Kuwaiti doctor who devoted his life to address the challenges related to health, education and food security facing Africa.
The Prize aims to recognize and appreciate the best studies, scientific projects, applied research and initiatives that have a significant impact on the advancement of economic, social and human resources and the development of infrastructure on the African continent.
The current cycle of the Al Sumait Prize focus on Education, aims to recognize and appreciate the best studies, scientific projects, applied research, and initiatives with high impact for the advancement of economic, social, human resources, and infrastructure development in the African continent. Nominations will be accepted until August 31st, 2026.
For more applications information, please visit Al-Sumait Prize’s website (www.AlSumaitPrize.org) or contact the following email: info@alsumaitprize.org.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS).
