Alemu Tirfessa
Technical Director of African Engagement
Dr. Alemu Tirfessa received his M.S. in plant science from Hawassa University, Ethiopia, and a Ph.D. in plant science from the University of Queensland, Australia.
He previously served as the Ethiopian Country Coordinator for the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sorghum and Millet. He coordinated and managed SMIL in Ethiopia, enhancing cutting-edge research aimed at improving the adaptation and resilience of sorghum with cross-continent and global collaborations in the area of sorghum genomics.
In addition to his role with CRCIL, Tirfessa serves as the Global Collaboration on Sorghum and Millet’s technical cooperation director. He works directly with partners in Madagascar on the accelerated adaptation trials underway there, testing Ethiopian sorghum varieties for the national seed registry.