The Africa Food
Prize Committee, chaired by Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria,
selected Dr. Nwanze 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 head of a small organization, Dr.
Nwanze’s accomplishments on behalf of Africa’s farmers are a reminder of what’s
possible when you combine passion, good ideas, hard work and dedication.”
This new, US
$100,000 award celebrates individuals and institutions that are changing the
reality of farming in Africa from a struggle to survive to a business that
thrives.
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.”
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.
“By calling attention to the exemplary
leadership of Kanayo Nwanze and to the compelling ideas that have guided him,”
said Kalibata, “we wish to encourage many others to follow in his 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.”
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.
