AfDB President set to engage young African farmers with $1.1m prize money

President, African Development Bank (AfDB) Mr. Akinwunmi Adesina, has awarded 1.1 million dollars to 10 young African agric entrepreneurs to boost food production in the region.

Adesina in a statement by the bank stressed the need to end hunger and malnutrition, pointing out that it would help achieve lasting peace in the world.

He spoke during the launch of fellowship for young African agribusiness innovators by World Food Prize and World Hunger Fighters Foundation which took place in Des Moines, U.S.A.

The AfDB President said “together, let’s end hunger in Africa. Together, let’s end hunger in our world.

“When I won the World Food Prize in 2017 and the Sunhak Peace Prize in 2019, I pledged the prize monies and a few matching donations totaling 1.1 million dollars to the creation of the World Hunger Fighters Foundation.

“This young crop of hunger fighters and agric. entrepreneurs will pick up the baton and in turn, do great things across the world”.

He said that out of 1,300 applications 10 outstanding African youths were selected for the 2019 Borlaug-Adesina Fellowship.

They are: Lourena Maxwell (Mozambique), John Agboola (Nigeria), Adonai Anna (Benin) and Olufemi Adesina (Nigeria).

Others are Ifeoluwa Olatayo (Nigeria), Victor Mugo (Kenya), Emmanuel Maduka (Nigeria), Marianne Enow-Tabi (Cameroon), Solomon Nimako (Ghana), and Nicholas Alifa (Nigeria).

Responding, 30-year-old Olatayo said that she aspired to impact more than 200,000 smallholder farmers across Africa in three years.

“My rooftop farms are based in Ibadan, Oyo State in Nigeria. We use a vertical model to plant lettuce and cucumber.

“Since we were close to consumers, we were able to sell to them with fast and easy access to nutritious foods while lessening the impact of transportation on the whole agricultural value chain,” Olatayo said.

According to reports, it was said that, the World Food Prize Foundation and the newly launched World Hunger Fighters Foundation are partnering to provide year-long fellowships for young African food innovators and entrepreneurs.

The report explained that, the World Hunger Fighters Foundation will award annual Borlaug-Adesina Fellowships to young Africans to develop new technologies, champion public policy, and develop viable businesses in the field of agriculture.

The young leaders are expected to gain experience in international agriculture research centres, including food and agribusiness companies.

It would be recalled that the late Nobel peace prize laureate, Dr Norman Borlaug, whose work helped feed one billion people, used his award to set up the World Food Prize Foundation.

It annually awards the prestigious World Food Prize, known as the Nobel prize for food and agriculture.

Meanwhile, President, Democratic Republic of Congo and a guest speaker at the launch of the foundation in Des Moines, Iowa, Felix Tshisekedi said, that agriculture can be used to restore peace in conflict areas.

“Agriculture can be the source of peace in Africa. It can create jobs and act as a stabilising factor in countries witnessing conflict.

“Agriculture is helping to disarm former combatants in my country, for instance,” he added.

Alongside, former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, described the hunger fighters’ initiative as critical to food security in Africa.

“The problem of youth unemployment, criminality, and many other related problems will be solved substantially if we take agribusiness, food security, and social security altogether,’’ Obasanjo said.

 

Source: NAN