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Nairobi, KENYA- January 17, 2022 : The African Food Prize Committee is pleased to announce the launch of nominations for the 2022 edition of the African Food Prize. The African Food Prize is the most prestigious award recognizing an outstanding individual or institution that is leading the effort to change the reality of agriculture in Africa - from a struggle for survival to a thriving business.  

Funding partners AGRA and UPL invite nominations from organizations, institutions and companies that have created opportunities for African farmers to earn viable livelihoods from their trade. Nomination criteria, procedure and online application are available at www.africafoodprize.org/nominate. Applications will close on Monday May 16, 2022.

The prestigious US$100,000 prize highlights 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.

The winners will be selected by the African Food Prize Committee headed by H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria, and announced at the AGRF 2022 Summit to be held in Kigali, Rwanda, in September. 

The African Food Prize pays tribute to Africans who are taking charge of Africa's agricultural agenda to create wealth and jobs for the continent, its economy and its people",

declared H.E. Obasanjo. 

In 2021, hundreds of strong entries were received and, after rigorous evaluation, the prize was awarded to the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics(ICRISAT) for its work improving food security in 13 sub-Saharan African countries. Between 2007 and 2019, ICRISAT led a collaboration of partners to implement the Tropical Legumes Project. 

The project, undertaken in collaboration with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), has resulted in the development of 266 improved legume varieties and almost half a million tonnes of seed for a range of legume crops, including cowpea, pigeonpea, chickpea, common bean, groundnut and soybean. These new varieties have helped more than 25 million smallholder farmers to become more resistant to climate change, as well as to pest and disease epidemics.

About the African Food Prize 

Endowed with $100,000, the African Food Prize pays tribute to Africans who are taking charge of the continent's agricultural agenda. It highlights 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. Winners are selected by an independent jury of eminent experts in African agriculture, chaired by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. The African Food Prize began life as the Yara Prize, created by Yara in 2005. It was moved to Africa and renamed the African Food Prize in 2016.

To find out more, visit africafoodprize.org.

Read also:

• The technologies behind Dr André Bationo's African Food Prize 2020
• Senegalese forestry engineer Baba Dioum is co-winner of the 2019 African Food Prize