Yara Prize awards African change agents
The Yara Prize Committee has selected two prominent African laureates for their work related to African agricultural development, food security and the continent's green revolution. Both laureates have, through their personal commitment and special efforts, translated ideas on the development of African agriculture into impactful results in their respective areas of work. They are both examples of the 'can-do attitude' and drive that will continue to play a vital role in transforming agriculture in Africa.
The 2015 awards recognize effective entrepreneurial work, which has helped build communities of resilient young women actively engaged in commercial farming and honor African thought leadership, which has been instrumental in transforming the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) agenda from a mere concept into decisive actions.
"Africa needs to do more to foster entrepreneurial agriculture and the interests of women and youth in agriculture. More smallholder-oriented policy changes are needed to meet growth and poverty alleviation targets in rural areas. In 2015, the Yara Prize honors two leading African change agents with transformational power. I wish to extend my personal congratulations to both laureates," Svein Tore Holsether, president and CEO of Yara, said.
The two laureates will be celebrated during a Yara Prize Ceremony in Lusaka, Zambia, on 30 September in connection with the AGRF 2015.
Eric Kaduru's award - changing the lives of young women through agribusiness
Kaduru is awarded the prize for his vision, his great courage and commitment to changing the lives of young out of school girls in Uganda. Through his comprehensive approach to passion fruit farming, he has managed to strengthen these girls' belief in themselves as entrepreneurs. Building on this newly-gained confidence, he has equipped them with the financial, technical, and entrepreneurial skills that allowed them to develop into commercial farmers.
Kaduru's passion for engaging African youth in agriculture as a positive and sustainable livelihood is exemplified through the fact that in less than two short years he has partnered with more than 1,500 out of school girls (aged 14-20) to begin their own passion fruit farms. Kaduru and his organisation, KadAfrica, is rapidly building communities of resilient young women actively engaged in Uganda's agriculture sector and are economic drivers of their communities.
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Dr. Ousmane Badiane award - thought leadership with profound impact
Badiane is awarded the prize for his important leadership role and influence on strategic debate and collaboration in Africa on agriculture and food security. Badiane is a first-class scholar and leading authority on African development with 30 years of professional experience in economic and agricultural development. As a persevering strong African voice, he has already had profound impact on African governments across the continent. Badiane has been instrumental and played a pivotal role in the shaping of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) agenda from concept development to implementation.
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About the Yara Prize
The Yara Prize for an African Green Revolution seeks to contribute to the transformation of African agriculture and food availability, within a sustainable context, thereby helping to reduce hunger and poverty. The Yara Prize is based on nominations of candidates who are carefully evaluated by the Yara Prize Committee. The Yara Prize consists of USD 60,000, which will be split between the laureates, a crystal trophy and a diploma. The Yara Prize was handed out in Oslo from 2005 to 2009. In 2012, it moved to Africa where it was handed out as part of AGRF 2012 in Arusha, Tanzania. The Yara Prize 2015 will be handed out during a ceremony in Lusaka, Zambia on Wednesday 30 September. Read more here.
