The 7th GCHERA World Agriculture Prize (WAP) Award Ceremony was held at Nanjing Agricultural University (NJAU) of China on October 28, 2019. Representatives from over 100 agro-related universities, research institutions, NGOs and enterprises in over 20 countries attended the ceremony. Nearly 1000 students and faculties from NJAU also witnessed the grand event.

Prof. Jose Miguel AGUILERA from the Catholic University of Chile was awarded the GCHERA WAP for his exceptional and significant lifetime achievements in the field of food engineering science.

Chancellor of NJAU, delivered a welcome speech. He pointed out that the influence of GCHERA WAP is increasing year by year, and international organizations such as FAO and OECD have given high attention and strong support to the award. 

Maurice MOLONEY, Chair of the WAP Jury, explained the selection process of the 2019 GCHERA WAP Jury Committee. John KENNELLY, the President of GCHERA, introduced the winner, Prof. Jose Miguel AGUILERA, a pioneer and a foremost scientist in relating food microstructure to product processing and properties, his successful building of global collaborative partnerships led to the establishment of a world-class group in food engineering that now serves Chile and the Latin American region.

After his speech, John KENNELLY awarded the 2019 Laureate Certificate. CHEN Fadi, President of NJAU awarded the 2019 Laureate Trophy to the laureate. MO Hongjian, Vice president of DBN Group, awarded the 2019 Laureate Prize Cheque. The student representative presented flowers to the laureate.

Prof. AGUILERA delivered acceptance speech. He shared his personal experiences and research results and said that with the support of the GCHERA, the Education Development Foundation of NJAU and the Dabeinong Group, he will have confidence to make more progress in the field of food science with his research team.

After the awarding, WANG Tao, Vice President of China Agricultural University (CAU), CUI Pengwei, Chancellor of the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Linday FALVEY, Board chair of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and WEI Zhenglin, Deputy Director General of Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs each extended their congratulations to the laureates.

At the end of the Ceremony, the 2019 GCHERA WAP Laureate Jose Miguel AGUILERA delivered a lecture entitled “The Role of Food technology in alimentation”. HU Feng, Vice President of NJAU, chaired the presentation.