According to sponsor Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), its transformation into the new African Agriculture and Food Security prize is in parallel with a shift of its managerial seat from a European home in Yara, Norway to Africa effective this year.
The $100,000 prize awarded to individuals or institutions whose extraordinary contribution to African agriculture, namely in forging a new era of sustainable food security and economic opportunity for all Africans, is also funded by Yara International ASA of Norway.
“Moving the Yara Prize to Africa in 2016 and christening it the Africa Food Prize gives the award a distinctive African home, African identity and African ownership,” the sponsors said during the WEF-Africa 2016 whose agenda included transforming the sector into business-oriented enterprise.
With more than 500 million smallholder farmers in the continent still dependent on rain-fed farming, the meeting called for new approaches, including climate-smart food systems to transform their lives.
The president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), former Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture Akinwumi Adesina, said de-risking the sector would help to commercialise it and enhance its creditworthiness.
He said the prize celebrated Africans, who would take control of Africa’s agriculture agenda and change the reality of farming in the continent from a struggle to survive to a business that will thrive to create jobs and generate foreign exchange through export of both food and cash crops.
It would also spotlight bold initiatives and technical innovations that could be replicated across the continent, he said.
Since its introduction in 2005, the Yara Prize has been won by various people including a Tanzanian economist, Entrepreneur Victor Mfinanga who was a co-winner in 2008 for venturing into a business benefiting both rural cattle keepers and urban milk consumers.
Mfinanga had developed a value chain that created market access and income opportunities for mainly female Maasai milk producers and supplies the market with processed milk products.
“His work serves as an example of determination and visionary leadership,” the organisers noted in the statement in recognition of his achievement.
Mfinanga is a trained economist, holding a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness from Sokoine Agricultural University (SAU). After graduating, he founded the Shambani Graduates Enterprises Co. Ltd. together with fellow graduates of the SAU sharing his desire to become an entrepreneur.
Established in 2003, Shambani is engaged in the business of collecting, processing and marketing milk and dairy products, and aims to become the most reliable source of quality milk in Tanzania.
“The Yara Prize recognised individuals from Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, Malawi, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Mozambique,” the sponsors’ statement reads. The prize laureates have also included the late Ethiopian leader, Meles Zenawi, and AfDB president Adesina.
It was awarded annually from 2005 to2009, went for break, but reinstituted in 2012 in connection with the African Green Revolution Forum in Arusha. The laureates represent a diverse range of African society engaged in the African Green Revolution: entrepreneurs and scientists, activists and organizers, businessmen and politicians.
The Yara Prize 2015 was awarded to Dr Ousmane Badiane, Director for Africa, IFPRI, and Eric Kaduru, founder and CEO of KadAfrica in Uganda. The Ugandan emerged tops for his great courage and commitment to changing the lives of young out of school girls in Uganda
Through his organisation, he has been rapidly building communities of resilient young women actively engaged in Uganda's agriculture sector, who are economic drivers of their communities.
Dr Badiane was awarded the prize for his important leadership role and influence on strategic debate and collaboration in Africa on agriculture and food security.
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