Prof Kadambot Siddique honoured with Crawford Fund Medal
September 4, 2025
We are delighted to share that Professor Kadambot Siddique AM, Hackett Professor of Agriculture and Director of The UWA Institute of Agriculture at The University of Western Australia, was presented with the 2024 Crawford Fund Medal at the 2025 Crawford Fund for Food Security Annual Conference on 12 August by the Hon John Anderson AC FTSE, Chair of The Crawford Fund.
The medal recognises those who have made a considerable and continued contribution to international agricultural research through the Crawford Fund’s programs and related activities.
Announced as the recipient of this honour in May, the citation for Prof Kadambot’s achievement reads, “In recognition of more than 35 years’ of eminent service by in agricultural research, teaching and management in Australia and overseas, especially in the context of international agricultural research for development and your outstanding contributions in the fields of crop physiology, production agronomy, farming systems, genetic resources, breeding research in cereal, grain legumes and oilseed crops.”
In accepting the Medal, Prof Siddique said, “I am deeply honoured to receive the 2024 Crawford Fund Medal. This recognition reflects not only a personal milestone but the vital role of international collaboration in advancing agricultural science and food security. It also recognises the legacy of Sir John Crawford and the Crawford Fund’s leadership in supporting impactful agricultural research and development, and more importantly, capacity building particularly in our region.”
“My journey in agricultural research education began over four decades ago, driven by a simple but powerful mission to improve food and nutritional security through science, technology and capacity building,” he said.
From the state of Kerala in south India, the Indian Agriculture Research Institute in New Delhi, to ICARDA in Syria, and the University of Western Australia where he did his PhD, Prof Siddique has worked across Asia particularly in India, China and Timor-Leste, the Middle East, especially in the war-torn country in Iraq, and Africa.
Since 1999, Prof Kadambot has served on the Crawford Fund WA committee, and he has had the privilege of leading various projects funded by ACIAR, CGIAR, GRDC, COGGO, the Australian Research Council and the United Nations FAO working in the areas of agronomy, crop physiology, farming systems, genetic resource and breeding of various crops.
“I have had the privilege to work alongside committed scientist, students, farmers. The most important thing I cherish is mentoring the numerous PhD students, who have completed 60 PhDs so far, and numerous post-doctoral fellows, including a number of fellows supported by the Crawford Fund over the years. But the most important thing, many of them are now advancing agriculture in their own countries, and this is the most rewarding experience to date,” he said.
“We have already heard that climate change, resource limitations and the evolving geopolitical landscape, which is really frightening me, means that global food and nutritional security continues to be some of our most pressing challenges,” he said.
“However, they also present significant opportunities for Australia if we commit to investing in science, technology, and support our farmers, building capacity, and promote the free exchange of knowledge across the borders. An average Australian farmer produces enough food to feed 150 people at home and 450 people overseas. Not a bad effort. But that’s not where Australia is famous. Australia is famous for capacity building, our universities, our CSIRO, our Department of Primary Industries. I think we could do more,” he said.
Prof Siddique finished his acceptance speech by thanking the Crawford Fund, his colleagues at the University of Western Australia, his students and many collaborators, and his wife Almaz and children for their unwavering support.
“I want to dedicate this medal to my late parents. They did all for me,” he concluded.
