{"id":685,"date":"2019-09-04T11:00:20","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T11:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africafoodprize.org\/?p=685"},"modified":"2019-09-04T11:26:12","modified_gmt":"2019-09-04T11:26:12","slug":"outstanding-smallholder-farmer-and-eminent-agricultural-policy-advocate-share-2019-africa-food-prize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africafoodprize.org\/fr\/outstanding-smallholder-farmer-and-eminent-agricultural-policy-advocate-share-2019-africa-food-prize\/","title":{"rendered":"Outstanding Smallholder Farmer and Eminent Agricultural Policy Advocate share 2019 Africa Food Prize"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Emma Naluyima of Uganda and Baba Dioum of Senegal are named joint winners of the US$100,000 prize at the African Green Revolution Forum.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accra, Ghana, 4 September 2019<\/strong> \u2013 Two exceptional\nprofessionals, who are both at the same time successful agricultural producers,\nhave today been announced as the joint winners of the 2019 Africa Food Prize. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Emma Naluyima, a smallholder farmer and private\nveterinarian from Uganda, and Baba\nDioum, a policy champion and agricultural entrepreneur from Senegal were\nrecognized for their remarkable achievements in demonstrating and promoting innovative\nand sustainable growth in Africa\u00b4s agriculture through improved resource use\nand market links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than pursue a promising institutional career, Dr.\nNaluyima quit employment to become a farmer, transforming her 1-acre plot into\na showcase of profitable and environmentally friendly agriculture. The secret\nto her success is innovative integration of crop and livestock production,\nbased on recycling of farm resources to provide natural fertilizers and pesticides\nas well as biogas. Dr. Naluyima, who generates $100,000\na year from her farm, also hosts up to 10,000 visiting farmers to share\nknowledge through her advisory service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also a prosperous farmer, Baba Dioum has excelled in\nthe policy sphere, leading the introduction of key reforms in the agriculture sector\nof his own country, before taking on influential roles in regional and\nAfrica-wide policy development. With a knack for fostering dialogue and\ncommitment, Mr. Dioum successfully promoted cross-border agricultural trade in\nWest Africa and helped significantly to advance the trade dimension of the\nComprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria,\nwho chairs the Africa Food Prize Committee, congratulated Dr. Naluyima and Mr.\nDioum on behalf of other Committee members, praising them for their courage in\ndefying the status quo to open new pathways toward a more prosperous\nagriculture and for their solidarity with many others who wish to follow in\ntheir footsteps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat most strikes me about this year\u00b4s winners is how\ntheir academic and professional success has gone hand in hand with their\nsuccess as farmers,\u201d said H.E. President Obasanjo. \u201cRather than turn away from\nthe countryside like so many others, they have embraced farming, using their\ntalents and knowledge to demonstrate its enormous commercial possibilities. In\nother words, they practice what they preach, and this lends real credibility to\ntheir message about the value of technical and policy innovation in\nagriculture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2019 winners, chosen from a total of close to 200\nnominees, exemplify the central aim of the Africa Food Prize, which is to put a\nspotlight on innovations that promise to create\na new era of food security and economic opportunity for all Africans. The\ntwo winners\u00b4 achievements strongly complement one another, showing how both small-scale\nproduction and high-level policy reforms can contribute to agricultural transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not content with the immediate financial rewards of\nher 1-acre farm – US$100,000 per year, Dr. Naluyima has turned it into a\nplatform for sharing knowledge about her innovative model with the 10,000 people\nwho seek her out each year. She and her husband have also set up a primary\nschool \u2013 still on their 1-acre plot – that gives special emphasis to science\nand technology for its close to 300 students. Her experience and achievements\nspeak volume about the importance of this kind of education for enabling rural women\nand youth to build more appealing livelihoods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am a firm believer that if you take good care of a\nfarm, it will care of you all the way to the bank. This is I know to be true as\nit is what I do on my 1-acre farm where I practice integrated farming,\u201d said Dr.\nNaluyima.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cI feel\nhonoured to be a winner of the Africa Food Prize, and hope this connects me\nwith new sources of knowledge to share. A passion to succeed is not enough; you\nalso need knowledge, which I am always in serach.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baba Dioum\u00b4s whole life and career have revolved\naround markets and trade in agricultural commodities. It thus comes as no surprise\nthat, while pursuing his policy work, he also engaged in the production of\nvegetables and later potato for export, eventually shifting to mango production\nfor the export market. To help consolidate West Africa\u00b4s position in this\nmarket, he created a regional network of mango exporters and developed a\nsuccessful regional brand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe Africans are good conservationists, and we also\nhave strong collective traditions,\u201d said Mr. Dioum. \u201cThese are important\nsources of strength, as we organize ourselves to compete in markets, using new\ntechnologies, and seek to ensure that our agribusinesses are sustainable. I am\nhumbled to receive this prize and sincerely hope it will draw attention to what\nAfrica\u00b4s aspiring entrepreneurs can do when the conditions are right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yara International ASA <\/em>established the\npredecessor of the Africa Food Prize and continues to provide support. Svein\nTore Holsether, President and Chief Executive Officer of Yara, joined others in\ncongratulating the 2019 recipients:<\/em> <\/em>\u201cThis years\u2019 winners are great\nexamples of what is possible and what is needed in African agriculture.\nKnowledge and technology can transform farming and lead to improved\nlivelihoods. But to achieve this, it is crucial that young talents see the\nopportunities and bring with them their dedication and fearlessness.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President of the Alliance for a\nGreen Revolution in Africa (AGRA), another key supporter of the Africa Food\nPrize, also expressed her delight with this year\u00b4s outcome: \u201cThe lives and\naccomplishments of these winners reinforce my optimism that Africa is on the\ncusp of a new era of growing prosperity, driven by sustained agricultural\ntransformation. Achievements like theirs can, in turn, leverage digital\ntransformation, which is the focus of this year\u00b4s Africa Green Revolution Forum\n(AGRF).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The winner of the 2018 Africa Food Prize was the\nInternational Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). The first organization\nto receive the Prize, IITA was awarded for its\ndeep commitment over many decades to producing a steady stream of innovations\nthat have boosted the nutrition and incomes of millions of people across\nAfrica. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Media Enquiries:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information on the Africa Food Prize and to secure\ninterviews with the winners and\/or the prize committee members, please contact Donna\nBowater, Farming First at Donna@farmingfirst.org<\/a>, Tel.: +44 7929\n212 534 OR  Waiganjo Njoroge, AGRA\nInterim Head of Communication at wnjoroge@agra.org<\/a>, Tel.: +254 723 857 270<\/p>\n\n\n\n

###<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00c0 propos du <\/strong>Africa\nFood Prize<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Africa Food Prize began\nas the Yara Prize, and was established in 2005 by Yara International ASA in\nNorway to honour achievements in African agriculture. Moving the Yara Prize to\nAfrica in 2016 and rechristening it the Africa Food Prize gave the award a\ndistinctive African home, African identity and African ownership. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Africa Food Prize honours\noutstanding contributions within every aspect of agriculture and food\nproduction that is clearly related to combating hunger and reducing poverty in\nAfrica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Africa Food Prize winners\nare selected by an independent committee chaired by H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo,\nformer President of Nigeria. Other committee members are: Dr. Eleni\nGabre-Madhin; Professor Sheryl Hendriks; Dr. Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg; Mr.\nBirama Sidibe; Amb. Sheila Sisulu; Dr. Vera Songwe; and Professor Joachim von\nBraun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Prize Committee considers\nthe following criteria for the Prize:<\/p>\n\n\n\n