{"id":1299,"date":"2023-02-17T08:35:59","date_gmt":"2023-02-17T08:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africafoodprize.org\/?p=1299"},"modified":"2023-06-15T13:08:36","modified_gmt":"2023-06-15T13:08:36","slug":"h-e-jakaya-kikwete-announced-as-africa-food-prize-chair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africafoodprize.org\/fr\/h-e-jakaya-kikwete-announced-as-africa-food-prize-chair\/","title":{"rendered":"H.E. Jakaya Kikwete announced as Africa Food Prize Chair"},"content":{"rendered":"

2023 Nominations for Africa\u2019s preeminent award for food security now open<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ADDIS ABABA, 17 February 2023<\/strong> – <\/strong>Former President of the United Republic of Tanzania, H.E. Dr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, has been announced as the new Chair of the Africa Food Prize (AFP). He will succeed former Nigerian President, H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo, who has been serving as the AFP Chair since 2016. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Welcoming the appointee, outgoing Chair, H.E. Obasanjo expressed enthusiasm noting that through his work, H.E. Kikwete has shown a genuine passion and dedication towards transforming Africa\u2019s agriculture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI congratulate Dr. Kikwete on his appointment as Chair of the Africa Food Prize. Through his leadership, I am confident that the continent will continue to explore and implement food systems strategies that lift people from poverty through inclusive growth and sustainable development,\u201d H.E. Obasanjo said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Kikwete has a commendable track record as a leading contributor to the transformation of Africa\u2019s food systems. As President of Tanzania, H.E. Kikwete led the implementation of \u2018Kilimo Kwanza\u2019 (Swahili for Agriculture First), an initiative that unlocked productivity and profitability for the country\u2019s smallholder farmers. He also spearheaded the implementation of the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT), a public-private partnership aimed at unlocking more private sector investment in the country\u2019s agricultural sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upon his retirement, and through the Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete Foundation, H.E. Kikwete has been collaborating with farmers and researchers to develop initiatives and strategic interventions to increase yield and productivity in smallholder farming and agribusiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Kikwete\u2019s appointment coincides with the 2023 call for nominations for the US$100,000 Africa Food Prize. The Africa Food Prize is the preeminent award recognizing the extraordinary women, men, and institutions whose contributions to African agriculture are forging a new era of sustainable food security and economic opportunity that elevates all Africans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, Nestl\u00e9 partnered with the Africa Food Prize, contributing CHF 100,000 (equivalent to US$ 108,400) which will go to the main award, and a special category focusing on innovations that advance regenerative food systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are excited to see how this year\u2019s applicants for the Africa Food Prize are making a difference. Their research and innovation efforts will help drive the transformation of agriculture on the African continent, and we are proud to support this,\u201d said Remy Ejel, Chief Executive Officer of Zone Asia, Oceania and Africa, Nestl\u00e9 S.A.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, Eric Yirenkyi Danquah, a Ghanaian plant geneticist, won the award for his outstanding expertise, leadership and grantsmanship skills that led to the establishment and development of West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), a world class centre for training plant breeders in Africa for Africa. Through WACCI, Mr. Danquah\u2019s innovations led to the creation of more than sixty improved seed varieties, including superior maize hybrid varieties, which continue to boost yield for farmers and contribute towards food and nutritional security in Ghana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organisations, institutions, businesses, and individuals who have created opportunities for Africa\u2019s farmers to gain viable livelihoods from their trade can submit their nominations at www.africafoodprize.org\/nominat<\/a>e<\/a> before Friday, 30 June 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winners will be selected by the Africa Food Prize committee and will be announced at the AGRF, Africa\u2019s Food Systems Forum 2023 to be held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

About the Africa Food Prize<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US$100,000 Africa Food Prize celebrates Africans who are taking control of Africa\u2019s agricultural agenda. It puts a bright spotlight on bold initiatives and technical innovations that can be replicated across the continent to create a new era of food security and economic opportunity for all Africans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The winners are selected by an independent panel of distinguished experts in African agriculture. The Africa Food Prize began as the Yara Prize, established by Yara in 2005. It was moved to Africa and rechristened the Africa Food Prize in 2016. More at africafoodprize.org.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Media queries<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For any media interview requests and enquiries, please contact:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jean Kiarie
Head of Communications, AGRA
+254722719070
jkiarie@agra.org<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notes to Editors<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All media materials related to the opening of the Africa Food Prize nominations can be found at www.africafoodprize.org<\/a>. Follow the conversation on Twitter at @AfriFoodPrize<\/a> and share content using  #AfricaFoodPrize<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2023 Nominations for Africa\u2019s preeminent award for food security now open ADDIS ABABA, 17 February 2023 – Former President of the United Republic of Tanzania, H.E. Dr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, Read More <\/a><\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1305,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wds_primary_category":0},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/africafoodprize.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1299"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/africafoodprize.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/africafoodprize.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africafoodprize.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africafoodprize.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/africafoodprize.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africafoodprize.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/africafoodprize.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africafoodprize.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africafoodprize.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}