24 GERMINATION.CA JANUARY 2018 FOR THE WINNER of this year’s World Food Prize, the secret to lifting mil- lions of smallholder African farmers out of poverty has been in giving them access to better quality seed. Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, has been heralded as “Africa’s Norman Borlaug,” and for the past 25 years has crafted policy that’s helped provide support for millions of farm- ers across the continent. As a result, he was honoured in October with the World Food Prize, given annually to recognize significant achievements in feeding the world. The selection of Adesina as the 2017 World Food Prize Laureate reflects both his breakthrough achievements as Nigeria’s agriculture minister and his critical role in the development of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), said Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation. “It also gives further impetus to his profound vision for enhancing nutrition, uplifting smallholder farm- ers and inspiring the next generation of Africans as they confront the chal- lenges of the 21st century.” In his formal address delivered at the World Food Prize Laureate lunch- eon in Des Moines, Iowa, Adesina highlighted the crucial role better access to quality seed has had in his quest to improve conditions for farm- ers throughout Africa. Born in 1960 in Ibadan, Nigeria, Adesina grew up in a one-room house without electricity or plumbing and slept side-by-side with his broth- ers on mats on the floor. Although his grandfather and father worked as farm labourers, his father was eventu- ally able to receive some education as a teenager, which led to employ- This year’s World Food Prize winner helped lift millions of farmers out of poverty by enabling better access to quality seed. Marc Zienkiewicz ment as a civil servant and provided the means to send his own sons to school. Adesina went on to earn both his master’s and PhD in agricultural eco- nomics at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. His goal was to return to Africa to help smallholder farmers increase crop production and improve their livelihoods. To that end, he accepted a post-doctoral fellowship at the SPREADINGTHE GOSPELOFAGRICULTURE Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, is the 2017 World Food Prize laureate. Photo courtesy World Food Prize Foundation