Breaking News: IFAD president, Kanayo Nwanze emerges first Africa Food Prize winner @AGRF 2016

NaijaAgroNet:

All is now set for the presentation of the first-ever Africa Food Prize to the President of Rome-based International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), at a ceremony to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The former President of Nigeria Chief Olusegun Obasanjo (OBJ), NaijaAgroNet gathered would lead dignitaries Wednesday evening, September 7, 2016 to perform this honour as the chairman of the Africa Food Prize by presenting the award to fellow Nigerian, Dr. Nwanze.

The Africa Food Prize, NaijaAgroNet gathered has a US $100,000 award which celebrates individuals as well as institutions that are changing the reality of farming in Africa from a struggle to survive to a business that thrives.

As farmers in eastern and southern Africa wrestle with severe drought, the Africa Food Prize arrives as a clarion call for the bold thinking and technical innovation required to overcome this and an array of other challenges.

NaijaAgroNet reports that the Africa Food Prize Committee selected Dr. Nwanze for his outstanding leadership and passionate advocacy in putting Africa’s smallholder farmers at the center of the global agricultural agenda.

Earlier in the day, media are invited to attend a short briefing in the UN Press Centre. H.E. Obasanjo and other prize committee members will speak to the winner’s achievements, who will also make an address to the media and be available to answer questions.

Others on the panel include Dr. Kanayo F. Nwanze, Dr. Eleni Gabre-Madhin, Chief executive officer, eleni LLC, Dr. Joachim von Braun, Director of the Center for Development Research (ZEF), Bonn University, and Professor for economic and technological change; and Ms. Sheila Sisulu, Special Envoy for Food and Nutrition Security of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Republic of South Africa.

Remmy Nweke in Nairobi/ED, Ops

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Investments in agriculture will unlock prosperity in Africa – IFAD President

NaijaAgroNet:

The President of the United Nations (UN's) International Fund For Agricultural Development (IFAD), Dr. Kanayo Nwanze, has told African leaders that investments in agriculture have the capacity to unlock prosperity of the continent, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Nwanze in a message to African leaders participating in the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) in Kigali that he is optimistic that such investment which must be a collaborative one between government and businesses will grow Africa tremendously.

"Investments in agriculture can generate great riches for the continent and lift millions out of poverty and hunger," said Nwanze en route to Rwanda. "There are high returns to those countries that take agriculture seriously."

Since 2009, he said, Africa has been seen as the next great investment frontier yet, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), economic growth on the continent is now predicted to be slower than the rest of the world for the first time in sixteen years.

He emphasised that with many countries in southern and eastern Africa suffering from the worst drought in decades, coupled with fiscal deficits widening and conflicts increasing, some experts are questioning whether Africa is still on the rise.

Despite these dire predictions, Nwanze said Africa is still a continent of unprecedented opportunity, and supporting small-scale farmers and investing in rural areas are some of the best ways for countries to meet their broader development objectives, including poverty reduction.

“With the right investments, Africa could double its agricultural productivity in the next five years,” he said, stressing that half of the world's uncultivated land which is suited for growing food crops is in Africa.

"We need to work together to harness the continent's potential and this means investing in small-scale farmers who are the backbone of African agriculture," Nwanze said.

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IFAD tasks leaders to break chains of desperation

NaijaAgroNet:

The President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Dr. Kanayo F. Nwanze, has tasked development leaders to break chains of desperation, which often lead to emergencies and humanitarian disasters, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Addressing the 39th Governing Council of IFAD in Rome at the weekend, Dr. Nwanze said this has become necessary given the backdrop of new reports that showed the number of refugees entering Europe has continued to skyrocket.

He told senior government officials attending the final day of the Council session to renew their commitments to invest in smallholder agriculture and reduce poverty in developing countries.

As said by him, rural development plays a fundamental role in stabilizing communities and reducing migration and conflict, and “by working together to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) starting with zero poverty and zero hunger; we can break the chain of desperation” that leads to emergencies and humanitarian disaster.”

He also made urgent calls for action in support of increased investment in smallholder agricultural to ensure food security, climate change adaptation, equitable prosperity and ultimately to remove the root causes that lead to conflict and migration, were shared throughout the two-day conference, held annually in Rome for senior government officials representing IFAD’s 176 member states.

Sergio Mattarella, the President of the Italian Republic, pledged that Italy will continue to play a key role in the eradication of hunger and poverty, conditions he described as "insidious".

Equally, Mattarella brought attention to the increasing number of refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria and called on leaders of all nations to get involved.

"Saving human lives and reaching out to those fleeing war or misery is a moral duty, a duty for any society that defines itself as free, democratic and truly respectful of human rights," he said.

 
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