IFAD President Dr. Kanayo F. Nwanze
The President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Dr. Kanayo F. Nwanze was awarded the inaugural Africa Food Prize at the ongoing Africa Green Revolution Forum in Nairobi.
Dr. Nwanze was selected by the Africa Food Prize Committee, chaired by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo for his outstanding leadership and passionate advocacy in putting Africa´s smallholder farmers at the center of the global agricultural agenda. “Dr. Nwanze is a model for how a great leader can make a difference in the lives of people on the ground,” said Obasanjo. “Whether that leader is the head of a global institution, a head of state or a head of small organization, Dr. Nwanze’s accomplishments on behalf of African farmers are a reminder of what’s possible when you combine passion, good ideas, commitment, focus, hard work and dedication”.
Alongside his tireless advocacy, Dr. Nwanze is credited with reorienting IFAD´s work to focus more on making small-scale farming a viable business, as well as expanding IFAD’s presence in developing countries to increase the organization’s effectiveness.
The Prize also acknowledges Nwanze´s courage in reminding African leaders to go beyond promising development and change to delivering it. “I would like to dedicate this award to the millions of African women who silently toil to feed their families,” said Dr. Nwanze. “No nation has been able to transform itself without giving women the same rights and opportunities as men. Our hope for future generations rests with African women who bear and raise our young people who will shape the African continent in the years to come.”
While congratulating the laureate, Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), said that Dr. Nwanze’s achievements reflect extremely well the ideals the award represents, putting a bright spotlight on bold initiatives and technical innovations that can be replicated across the continent to create a new era of food security and economic opportunity for all Africans.
Dr. Kalibata encouraged many others to follow in Nwanze’s footsteps and boldly use the opportunities available to them to change the reality of African farming from a struggle to survive to a business that thrives. “In honoring Kanayo Nwanze, the Africa Food Prize Committee could not have made a better choice as the former Yara Prize takes on its new and authentic African identity,” said Svein Tore Holsether, President and Chief Executive Officer of Yara International ASA (Yara). “Since its inception in 2005, the Yara Prize has honored special people who have contributed in different ways to transform African agriculture.
The first Africa Food Prize recognizes an outstanding African leader who has dedicated his work to improve the lives for smallholder farmers. “With 80 percent of farms run by smallholders, the key to transforming African agriculture lies in empowering the smallholder farmer, enabling rural value creation and providing jobs for rural youth, said Holsether”.
The Prize recognizes Nwanze for his individual leadership, but also for the results of successful efforts at IFAD in the years he has been at the helm. IFAD, a specialized United Nations agency and International Financial Institution dedicated to eradicating rural poverty, is not the same organization today that it was in 2009, when Nwanze took office as President.
Despite a major global economic downturn, he succeeded in growing the Fund´s overall resources, with significant increases in commitments from member states. As a result of this overall increase in IFAD´s portfolio of loans and grants, its ongoing investments in Africa more than doubled—from US$1.3 billion at the start of Nwanze´s tenure to $2.7 billion in 2015—benefiting more than 75 million rural people.
Nwanze has also presided over far-reaching changes in the way IFAD approaches its work, with a focus on shifting activities from headquarters in Rome to offices in dozens of developing countries. With only six country offices in Africa a decade ago, these now number 20 in Africa with a total of 40 globally. The local offices have been key in reshaping IFAD’s business model, increasing farmers’ access to resources and improving the deployment of funds to projects.
“I know the difference it makes to see first-hand the value that one’s work is adding to someone’s life,” said Nwanze. “The idea behind opening more country offices is to bring IFAD closer to the people it serves, not only to motivate our own staff, but to more effectively work with rural communities, learning from them and adapting our investments to transform the environment in which they live and work.”
Recent studies by IFAD’s Independent Office of Evaluation show that, where country offices are present, the IFAD-funded programs and projects are generally more efficient and effective, with stronger partnerships and policy advocacy.
Under Dr. Nwanze´s leadership, IFAD has also taken up a more active role in the global policy dialogues. Together with its partners, it advocated for an emphasis on smallholder farmers in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted last year by world leaders, arguing successfully that these farmers have a central role to play in achieving a world free of hunger.
As an advocate for rural communities, Dr. Nwanze has consistently called on leaders to keep food security and agriculture at the center of development and budgetary priorities. For instance, through an open letter to the African Union Heads of State ahead of the 23rd African Union (AU) Summit in 2014, he reminded the leaders of the importance of investing in smallholder family farms and challenged them to think about the legacy they want to leave for future generations. He wrote, “Don’t just promise development, deliver it, and make it happen now. Make real, concrete progress toward investment that reaches all Africans. Investments that prioritize rural people.”
“It is now quite clear what must be done to transform Africa´s agriculture and feed this continent sustainably,” said Obasanjo. “But all of our carefully crafted strategies, plans, and programs will accomplish little without able and visionary leaders. Kanayo Nwanze is one such leader, whose shining example, I hope, will give rise to many others, said Obasanjo”
The Africa Food Prize is funded by AGRA, the EcoNet Foundation, and Yara International ASA (Yara), is the preeminent award for recognizing outstanding individuals or institutions that are leading efforts to change the reality of farming in Africa from a struggle to survive to a business that thrives.
The US$100,000 prize celebrates Africans who are taking control of Africa’s agricultural agenda. It puts a bright spotlight on bold initiatives and technical innovations that can be replicated across the continent to create a new era of food security and economic opportunity for all Africans. The winners are selected by an independent panel of distinguished experts in African agriculture, chaired by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. The Africa Food Prize began as the Yara Prize, established by Yara in 2005 but was moved to Africa and rechristened the Africa Food Prize in 2016.
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