Recognized awards and medals given to SUA staff 

1.Dr. Georgies Mgode    

Type of award Received

In 2012 Dr. Georgies Mgode was awarded the presidential Medal of Invention and Scientific Research, from H.E. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of Tanzania for his novel research on TB diagnosis.

About Dr.Mgode
Dr. Mgode connected to APOPO through Sokoine University of Agriculture, and has been with the TB program since the very beginning. One of the driving forces behind APOPO's innovative techniques and research, Dr. Mgode helped TB operations grow in leaps and bounds.

2.Prof. Benezeth Mutayoba    

Type of award Received

In June 12,2014 Prof.Mutayoba was awarded the National Geographic Society/Buffett Award for Leadership in African Conservation.

About Prof Benezeth Mutayoba
Benezeth Mutayoba is a Scientist and biologist, professor at Tanzania’s Sokoine University of Agriculture and vice chairman of the Tanzania Elephant Protection Society, who highlights the plight of African elephants and the bushmeat crisis in Africa, 

For more than a decade and a half, Benezeth Mutayoba, a professor at Sokoine University of Agriculture’s Department of Veterinary Physiology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology and Toxicology, has engaged in challenging conservation research, especially on elephants and the bushmeat trade, and has mentored students to take action to protect their unique natural heritage.

Among his many conservation accomplishments was to develop, with colleagues, mitochondrial DNA testing methods to identify bushmeat sold illegally as domestic beef and pork to hotels in Tanzania and other East African countries. His technique is now used by scientists in other parts of Africa. 

He also served as a member of the Bushmeat Crisis Task Force aimed at identifying and supporting solutions that effectively respond to the bushmeat crisis around the world.

In addition, Mutayoba collaborated on research examining the long-term impacts of poaching of female elephants in Mikumi National Park in southern Tanzania. The research found that survivors who had lost kin displayed altered behavior, heightened stress levels and lower fertility. 

These long-term impacts also prevail in elephants that survived past heavy poaching in Tarangire National Park in northern Tanzania. Mutayoba presents these finding at various venues to communicate that poaching has long-lasting effects on elephant populations.

He also has been instrumental in several genetic studies to develop DNA tools for determining the origin of seized ivory, and, as vice chairman of the Tanzania Elephant Protection Society, he has challenged the Tanzanian government’s denial of the elephant poaching crisis and has raised awareness of its scope and impact. 

As a result, at the end of 2013, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete launched “Operation Tokomeza” to end elephant poaching in Tanzania and ordered aerial counts of all the major elephant populations in southern Tanzanian reserves and national parks.

Additionally, Mutayoba is deeply involved in researching and documenting wildlife connectivity and the movement of large animals outside the protected areas in Tanzania.

National Geographic Society/Buffett Award recipients are chosen from nominations submitted to the National Geographic Society’s Committee for Research and Exploration, which screens the nominations through a peer-review process.
 

Recognized awards, trophies  and medals given to SUA.

Year    Name of awards

2016    Best exhibitor at Nane Nane Agricultural shows 2016 held in Morogoro.

2017    Best exhibitor at Nane Nane Agricultural shows 2017 held in Morogoro.