Professor Jill Farrant receives Lifetime Achievement Award at 2025 NRF Awards, reinforcing UCT’s leadership within the BOOSTER project

The award acknowledges Professor Farrant’s exceptional contribution to science, her pioneering research on plant desiccation tolerance, and her lifelong dedication to advancing food security and sustainability in Africa and beyond.​

Professor Farrant, who holds the DSI-NRF Research Chair in Systems Biology Studies on Plant Desiccation Tolerance for Food Security within UCT’s Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, is a world leader in the study of how plants survive extreme drought. Her multidisciplinary systems biology approach combines molecular, physiological, and ecological analyses to uncover how certain plants known as resurrection plants can tolerate almost complete water loss and then recover when rehydrated. Through her work, she aims to apply these natural mechanisms to improve the drought tolerance of important crops, ensuring food security in a future marked by climate instability.

Throughout her distinguished career, Professor Farrant has demonstrated a unique ability to connect world-class scientific excellence with societal impact. Her work has redefined global understanding of plant desiccation tolerance, and her discoveries have contributed directly to the development of drought-tolerant maize, natural biostimulants derived from root-associated microbes, and strategies for reducing the dependence on chemical fertilisers in degraded soils. By exploring “orphan crops” such as teff and legumes, she has advanced the use of underutilised African species to strengthen climate resilience and promote nutrition security.

Professor Farrant’s influence extends globally, with over 250 scientific publications, 18 book chapters, and numerous international distinctions, including the L’Oréal–UNESCO Award for Women in Science (2012) and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s Georg Forster Research Award (2022). She was also the first female researcher from UCT to achieve the NRF A-rating, a recognition reserved for scientists of exceptional international standing. Her research and outreach have been featured in several international documentaries, such as the BBC’s The Genius Behind and PBS’s H2O: The Molecule that Made Us, as well as public events including TED Global, BioVision, and Falling Walls Berlin.

The BOOSTER consortium extends its warmest congratulations to Professor Jill Farrant for this well-deserved recognition. Her lifetime of dedication to science and society exemplifies the spirit of collaboration and innovation that drives BOOSTER’s vision, building a more sustainable and climate-resilient agricultural future for Africa and the world.

Access more about Professor Farrant’s work and BOOSTER’s collaborations HERE.