Skip to main content

Agricultural Economist Wins 2017 World Food Prize




Prestigious award known as “Nobel Prize of Food and Agriculture”



For the second year in a row, an agricultural economist is the recipient of the prestigious World Food Prize. Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, is the 2017 Laureate, which is an international award “recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world.”

Dr. Adesina has spent his career helping expand food production in Africa and changing the political landscape to help African farmers now and into the future.

In 2006 Dr. Adesina organized the Africa Fertilizer Summit, then helped expand commercial bank lending to farmers in his role in the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. He became Minister of Agriculture in Nigeria, where he was given the nickname “the farmer’s Minister”, in part, because of his policy reform.

“Dr. Adesina’s work exemplifies the kind of profound impact that an agricultural and applied economist can have,” said AAEA Past President Jayson Lusk. Lusk is Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University, where Dr. Adesina earned his master’s degree and PhD. “Dr. Adesina helped design and promote policies that improved access to capital, technology, and inputs that benefited millions of African farmers.”

Current AAEA President Scott Swinton, who worked with Dr. Adesina when he was at Purdue, says “Even as a graduate student, Akin Adesina was looking for ways to make African agriculture function better economically. His PhD thesis explored how smallholders in the Republic of Niger could adapt to uncertain rainfall by optimizing the planting of new millet and sorghum cultivars. Over the decades since, he has kept that sharp focus on optimizing African agriculture.”

“Agricultural economists are finding important new ways to raise poor farmers’ incomes and meet consumers’ food needs,” Swinton said. “It is exciting to see these contributions recognized through the World Food Prize to Akinwumi Adesina in 2017 and to Jan Low in 2016.”

Dr. Adesina will receive his award October 19, 2017, during the World Food Prize Laureate Award Ceremony at the Iowa State Capitol Building in Des Moines, Iowa. The event, which will include world-class economists and researchers from around the world, will be broadcast live on Iowa Public Television and online.

ABOUT AAEA: Established in 1910, the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) is the leading professional association for agricultural and applied economists, with 2,500 members in more than 20 countries. Members of the AAEA work in academic or government institutions as well as in industry and not-for-profit organizations, and engage in a variety of research, teaching, and outreach activities in the areas of agriculture, the environment, food, health, and international development. 

The AAEA publishes two journals, the American Journal of Agricultural Economics and Applied Economic Perspectives & Policy, as well as the online magazine Choices. To learn more, visit www.aaea.org.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Four Armed Robbery Suspects Killed In Shootout With Police In Songwe

  “This is Vwawa Bus Stand, where the incident occurred in which armed robbers shot and killed a security guard before fleeing with various items.” Songwe. Four suspected armed robbers have been shot dead following a confrontation with police in Songwe Region after allegedly being involved in a violent raid on a mobile phone and financial services shop in Vwawa town, Mbozi District, in which a security guard was killed. According to a statement issued today, December 30, 2025, by the Songwe Regional Police Commander, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police (SACP) Augustino Senga, the incident occurred at around 3:30 a.m. The suspects reportedly stormed the shop, owned by businessman Gabriel Msemwa, at the Vwawa main bus stand, killed the guard, William Mwampashi (45), and fled with assorted items. The deceased suspects have been identified as Bruce Mwasenga, Eliuta Mapunda, Abdul Chiba, and Justine, known by a single name. SACP Senga said police immediately launched intensive, inte...
Post a Comment
Read more

JAB Yawasogeza Huduma Waandishi Iringa, Yaomba Ushirikiano Kudhibiti Waandishi Wasioidhinishwa

Iringa. Bodi ya Ithibati ya Waandishi wa Habari (JAB) imeendelea na jitihada za kusogeza huduma zake kwa waandishi wa habari nchini, safari hii ikifika katika Klabu ya Waandishi wa Habari Iringa (Iringa Press Club – IPC), ikiwa ni sehemu ya mkakati wa kuboresha tasnia ya habari na kulinda taaluma ya uandishi wa habari. Akizungumza wakati wa kikao na waandishi wa habari mkoani Iringa, Kaimu Mkurugenzi Mkuu wa Bodi ya Ithibati ya Waandishi wa Habari (JAB), Wakili Patrick Kipangula, amesema lengo la ziara hiyo ni kutoa elimu kuhusu majukumu ya bodi, mchakato wa ithibati pamoja na kusikiliza changamoto zinazowakabili waandishi wa habari ngazi ya mikoa. Wakili Kipangula amesema bado kuna changamoto ya uwepo wa watu wanaojihusisha na shughuli za uandishi wa habari bila kuwa na ithibati halali, hali inayochafua tasnia na kuhatarisha maadili ya kazi hiyo nyeti. “Tunawaomba waandishi wa habari kushirikiana na Bodi kwa kuwafichua watu wanaojitambulisha kama waandishi bila kuwa na ithiba...
Post a Comment
Read more

MUCE IMPLEMENTS SH18.6 BILLION PROJECT IN HONOUR OF FATHER OF THE NATION’S VISION

Iringa. As Tanzania marks 26 years since the passing of the Father of the Nation, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere — a passionate advocate for education — Mkwawa University College of Education (MUCE), a constituent college of the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), continues to successfully implement the Higher Education for Economic Transformation (HEET) Project worth over Sh18.6 billion. Speaking to journalists in Iringa, MUCE Principal Prof Method Samwel Semiono said the project, implemented by the government through the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, aims to reform the higher education system so it can directly contribute to the country’s economic transformation. “The five-year project (2021/2022–2025/2026) is funded by the World Bank and focuses on curriculum improvement, infrastructure development, human resource capacity building, inclusive education and gender equality, as well as promoting the use of ICT and digital learning,” explained Prof Semiono. He no...
Post a Comment
Read more