Nigeria’s former agriculture minister and current President of African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, has been named this year’s World Food Prize Laureate.
The World Food Prize Foundation said Adesina won the prize “for driving change in African agriculture for more than 25 years, and improving food security for millions across the continent”.
The foundation also praised Adesina for his achievements as Nigeria’s agriculture minister.
They include creating programmes to make Nigeria self-sufficient in rice production, making cassava become a major cash crop, introducing a system that checked corruption in fertilizer distribution, and helping to attract billions of dollars in private sector investments.
Adesina is the 46th recipient of the 250,000-dollar award.
