Improved and disseminated disease-resistant and high-yielding cassava varieties Conservation and dissemination of genetic resources for bulbous crops and edible banana
Sang Ki Hahn
Former Director of the International Institute of Tropical Agricultural Research of Nigeria
(1933~Present)
- Academic background
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1953~1957
Graduated from the Department of Agriculture of the College of Agriculture of the Seoul National University
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1957~1959
Master’s degree in Agriculture (Weed Science) from the College of Agriculture of the Seoul National University
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1960~1961
Special graduate student (Crop Breeding) at the University of Minnesota, USA
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1965~1967
Ph.D. degree in agriculture (Crop Breeding) from the Michigan State University, USA
- career
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1965∼1971
Professor at the College of Agriculture of the Seoul National University
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1971~1991
Researcher and Head of the Bulbous Crops Department of the International Institute of Tropical Agricultural Research, Nigeria
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1990
Founding Fellow, of the Nigerian Academy of Biological Sciences
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1990∼1997
Secretary General of the African Biotechnology Network
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1991~1997
Chairman of the International Society of Bulbous Crop Science
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1998
Professor Emeritus at the Department of Horticulture of the University of Georgia, USA
- Awards received
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1982
Scientific Achievement Award by the UK Guinness
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1982
Citation by the President of the Republic of Korea
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1983
Coronation as the Chief of Ikire (King of Farmers), Nigeria
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1992
Sangheo Award of the Republic of Korea
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1990/1995
King Baudouin Award in Belgium
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2006
Achievement Award by the Minister of Environment of Brazil
Dr. Sang Ki Hahnis an agronomist who improved food problems in Africa through the development and dissemination of varieties of cassava, a staple food in Africa.
Dr. Hahn was born in 1933 in Cheongyang, Chungcheongnam-do, and began his career as an agronomist by receiving his bachelor's and master's degrees in agriculture from the Department of Agriculture of the Seoul National University. Although he was interested in plant breeding, he eventually chose to major in weed science in graduate school due to the recommendation by his academic advisor, Professor Yeong Rin Ji. He became the first Korean who received a master's degree in weed science in 1959 with his thesis entitled, "A survey study of arable land weeds in Suwon Province." While working as a teaching assistant at the Department of Agriculture, he was selected as a special graduate student by the Minnesota Project in 1960 and spent a year studying plant breeding at the University of Minnesota. In 1965, he was enrolled into a Ph.D. degree program at the Michigan State University in the USA, where he studied plant genetic breeding in earnest under the guidance of Prof. John E. Grafius. He received his Ph.D. degree in 1967 with the thesis entitled, "Resistance of barley (Hordeum vulgareL. Emend. Lam.) to cereal leaf beetle (Oulema melanopusL.)," and returned to Korea and worked as a professor at the Department of Agriculture of the Seoul National University until 1971.
When the International Institute of Tropical Agricultural Research was established in Nigeria in 1971, he applied for a position as a researcher and resigned from his teaching position to head to Africa. His first assignment at the Institute was breeding cassava, a staple food in African. Cassava was an unfamiliar crop that he had not experienced in his life at the time. As such, he started with a literature search, and found that it was a native crop of Brazil and Dr. E. S. Normanha is a world authority on cassava. Soon after, he traveled to Brazil to visit Dr. Normanha and acquired a wealth of information on cassava breeding and Brazilian cassava seeds. After returning to the Institute, he collected African native cassava variety seeds and began the development of new varieties in earnest through pedigree breeding of the seeds that he brought from Brazil.
In 1973, the outbreak of bacterial and viral diseases of cassava in 1973 further aggravated famine in all areas of Africa including Nigeria. This prompted him to decide to focus his research on breeding disease-resistant and high-yielding cassava, and in 1976, he succeeded in developing so-called ‘super cassava’, a disease-resistant and high-yielding cassava, by crossbreeding the wild cassava variety brought from Brazil with the conventional cassava variety. However, it was difficult to disseminate his ‘super cassava’ to farmers due to the indifference of the Nigerian government. Coincidentally, two British oil companies, Shell and BP, that were operating business in the oil-producing regions of Nigeria sought his assistance in order to overcome the possible threat of riot by laborers suffering from famine arising from the cassava disease that broke out in these regions. He was able to solve the food problem by replacing the conventional cassava with the new variety that he had developed. This provided an opportunity for the superiority of his super cassava variety to be better known naturally to the farmers, and the President of Nigeria even wrote a request letter to him for its wider distribution. As the result, it was distributed to 17 African countries thereafter.
While working at the Bulbous Crops Department of the International Institute of Tropical Agricultural Research, he also put efforts on the breeding and dissemination of yams, sweet potatoes, and edible bananas. He improved and distributed five varieties of yam, a plant of family Dioscoreaceae, to 21 countries and 33 varieties of sweet potato to 66 countries, and eight varieties of edible banana were selectively bred and distributed to eight countries. He also led the cultivation of young agriculturalists to lead the agricultural industry in Africa, while continuously conducting his researches at the same time. He drew out the support and cooperation of international organizations such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide opportunities for agriculture students in Africa to conduct breeding researches. He also spearheaded the establishment of agricultural research centers in various parts of Africa and invited globally reputed scholars to Africa to offer a venue for international exchange.
In recognition of his achievements in the development of the super cassava, he was awarded the Scientific Achievement Award by the UK Guinness, a Citation by the President of the Republic of Korea andthe King Baudouin Award in Belgium, and was appointed as the Secretary General of the African Biotechnology Network, Chairman of the International Society of Bulbous Crop Science and a founding member of the Nigerian Academy of Biological Sciences. Furthermore, he won the recognition of the people of Africa by being appointed as the Chief of Ikire by the Nigerian government in 1983.
Dr. Sang Ki Hahn is a world-renowned scientist in the area of crop breeding who made marked contributions to the alleviation of food shortages in Africa. His development of super cassava, and improvement of yams, sweet potatoes, and edible bananas, as well as dissemination thereof have sown the seeds of hope for the people of Africa in combating famine.
