Applications are now open for the US$100,000 Africa Food Prize, an award recognising outstanding individual or institution that is leading the effort to change the reality of farming in Africa from a struggle to survive into a business that thrives.
The US $100,000 prize celebrates Africans who are taking control of Africa’s agriculture agenda. It pits a spotlight on bold initiatives and technical innovations that can be replicated across the continent to create a new food security and economic opportunity for all Africans.
The Africa Food Prize began as the Yara Prize, and was established in 2005 by Yara International ASA in Norway to honor achievements in African agriculture. The Yara Prize recognized individuals from Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, Malawi, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Mozambique for their success in making agricultural farms more productive, profitable and resilient.
Moving the Yara Prize to Africa in 2016 and rechristening it to the Africa Food gave the award a distinctive African home, African identity and African ownership.
The key objective area of this grand prize is to recognize extraordinary women, men and institutions whose outstanding contributions to African agriculture are forging a new era of sustainable food security and economic opportunity that elevates all Africans.
The preeminent annual award which is organized by Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) is set to close its application on June 17, 2023.
Selection criteria
The Prize Committee considers the following criteria for the Prize:
- Contribution to reducing poverty and hunger and/or improving food and nutrition security in measurable terms.
- Contribution to providing a vital source of income and/or employment in measurable terms.
- Potential for transformative change through scalability, replication and sustainability.
- Increased awareness and cooperation among African audiences and organizations.
Last time winners
The 2022 Africa Food Prize winner Eric Yirenkyi Danquah was celebrated for his outstanding expertise, leadership and grantsmanship skills that led to the establishment and development of the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) as a world class centre for training plant breeders in Africa for Africa.
The other winners include International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in 2021 and Dr. Catherine Nakalembe & Dr. André Bationo in 2020 among others.
Sectors covered
The applicants are expected to be drawn from a number of sectors that include:
Agribusiness, Clean technology and energy, Environmental services, Utilities, Financial services, ICT, Water, sanitation and hygiene, 3D printing, Automotive, Biotechnology and medical research, Business services, Computer hardware, Construction, Construction and manufacturing, Consulting and business development, Diversified services, Electronics, Enterprise software, Food production, Legal services, Leisure and travel, Logistics, Manufacturing,
Applications are accepted here.
