$100,000 up for grabs as Africa Food Prize calls for nomination

Nominations for the $100,000 Africa Food Prize 2017 has been declared open today, Monday 6, and is expected to run until Monday 5, June 2017, National Daily has gathered.

The prize, a successor to the prestigious Yara Prize, recognizes outstanding individual or institution that is leading the effort to change the reality of farming in Africa-form from a struggle to survive to a business that thrives.

Winners will be chosen by the Africa Food Prize Committee, which, in addition to Chief Obasanjo, who chairs the Prize Committee, will include other distinguished leaders in African agriculture.

The winners will be awarded at a high-profile gala dinner in Abidjan, Cote d’lvoire at the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in September 2017 by annually during a prize ceremony at the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF).

Dr. Kanayo Nwanze, a Nigerian won the inaugural 2016 edition for his courageous leadership in fostering solidarity with Africa’s small-scale farmer

The Nigerian national who is also the president of Rome-based International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) took home $100,000 worth prize. He received his award during a ceremony at the African Green Revolution Forum in Nairobi, Kenya.

In 2004, Kofi Annan challenged the world to create an African Green Revolution. Yara responded to this call for action with the Yara Prize in 2005. “The winners this past decade have had one thing in common: A profound impact on African agriculture. I believe the Africa Food Prize will continue to attract global attention to all the impressive African women and men with a ‘can-do attitude’ and drive – people who play such a vital role in transforming agriculture in Africa”, said Svein Tore Holsether, President and CEO of Yara International.

Past winners include Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, the former Nigerian Agriculture Minister who now heads the African Development Bank (AfDB); Agnes Kalibata, the former Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources in Rwanda who now serves as AGRA’s President; and Ousmane Badiane, Africa Director for the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).