The African Development Bank President, Akinwumi Adesina, will deliver the Norman Borlaug Lecture as part of the World Food Prize events taking place from October 16-20, 2017 in Des Moines, Iowa, USA.
The Norman Borlaug Lecture titled “Betting on Africa to Feed the World” will be held on World Food Day, October 16, in conjunction with the annual World Food Prize celebration. President Adesina will receive the 2017 World Food Prize on Thursday, October 19. The prize is to agriculture what the Nobel Prize is to peace, science and literature.
The World Food Prize board announced President Adesina as the 2017 Laureate announced in June for his work in improving the availability of seed, fertilizer and financing for African farmers, and for laying the foundation for the youth in Africa to engage in agriculture as a profitable business.
The World Food Prize, founded by Nobel Laureate, Norman Borlaug, is the foremost international honour recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world.
As Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in Nigeria, Adesina introduced the E-Wallet system, which brought transparency to fertilizer distribution system – a process previously hampered by corruption for 40 years. His policies expanded Nigeria’s food production by 21 million metric tons, and the country attracted US $5.6 billion in private-sector investment, earning him tremendous respect as the ‘farmers’ Minister’.
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