Adey Melesse Yalew

Research area: Using available animal feed in a safe and quality manner to improve productivity for the better livelihood of rural and smallholder livestock farmers.

Adey Melesse Yalew concedes that a research career in livestock feed quality is an unusual choice for a woman raised in the capital city by a father, who was a banker, and a clothes-designing mother. “Originally, I wanted to be a medical doctor, but the available openings at university were so limited in 1990 that only a few applicants gained admission,” she says. “I saw family friends, who were agriculture graduates, being successful, so I pursued what has become my second passion.”

Yalew completed her bachelor’s degree in animal science at Alemaya University of Agriculture and went on to do a master’s degree in applied microbiology. Today, as an associate researcher at EIAR, she is determined to help Ethiopian famers produce improved fodder for their livestock.

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