World Food Prize Foundation President Mashal Husain says Africa’s future must be shaped by African solutions.
Speaking at a ceremony during which the Foundation awarded AGRA the prestigious Norman E. Borlaug Medallion, she noted AGRA has demonstrated that “Africa’s future will be shaped by African leadership, African innovation, and African solutions.”
Established to recognise outstanding contributions to global food security, the World Food Prize Foundation awards the Norman E. Borlaug Medallion to individuals and institutions whose work advances the legacy of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr Norman E. Borlaug through science-driven, farmer-centred agricultural development.
The award recognises AGRA’s two decades of advancing agricultural transformation, strengthening food systems, and improving the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers across Africa.
It was presented at the DialogueNEXT Africa – Born to Feed the Future event in Nairobi, Kenya, where AGRA’s 20-year journey to promote sustainable agriculture and build resilient food systems was celebrated.
Presenting the award, Husain said AGRA exemplifies Africa’s ability to lead its own agricultural transformation.
“Inspired by Dr Borlaug’s dream of a green revolution for Africa, this institution has worked alongside governments, researchers, businesses, and development partners to strengthen food systems and expand opportunity for millions of farming families,” Husain said.
Receiving the award on behalf of the institution, AGRA President Alice Ruhweza described the recognition as a tribute to the collective efforts of everyone who has contributed to AGRA’s mission over the past two decades.
“I receive it with great humility, and with gratitude for the confidence it represents in AGRA’s work and in Africa’s agricultural transformation journey,” Ruhweza said.
Husain said, “AGRA has become one of the continent’s most influential forces advancing food and nutrition security, and in many ways, it reflects one of Dr Borlaug’s final and most enduring hopes: an Africa that can feed itself, nourish its people, and help feed a growing world.”
Ruhweza said the recognition belongs to AGRA’s Board and staff, founding donors, former leaders, and partners who have helped shape the organisation since its establishment.
She also paid tribute to former AGRA President Dr Agnes Kalibata, whose decade of leadership helped strengthen AGRA’s impact across Africa.
Dedicating the award to the millions of farmers AGRA serves, Ruhweza emphasised the central role of women in Africa’s food systems.
“Above all, I accept this recognition on behalf of the millions of farmers AGRA is privileged to serve, especially the women farmers whose resilience, enterprise and labour sustain families, communities and food systems across Africa,” she said.
Recalling the vision that has guided AGRA since its inception, Ruhweza said Dr. Norman Borlaug’s call to “take it to Africa, take it to the farmer” remains as relevant today as it was two decades ago.
“For twenty years, AGRA has sought to help realise that dream, and we remain committed to carrying it forward with urgency, humility and hope,” she said.
The recognition coincides with AGRA’s 20th anniversary, underscoring the institution’s continued commitment to supporting smallholder farmers, strengthening national food systems, expanding market opportunities, and advancing inclusive, market-driven agricultural transformation across Africa.
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