26 GERMINATION.CA JANUARY 2018 Rockefeller Foundation in 1988. The Rockefeller fellowship started him on an Africa-based 10-year career within the CGIAR system. “I realized millions of farmers were unable to access improved seed and fertilizers because rural input markets were poorly developed or absent in most cases. It was easier to find soda pop in rural Africa than it was to find high-performing sorghum varieties,” Adesina said. An early initiative of Adesina’s was his development of small agri- retailers throughout the continent. Working with international and local NGOs, he helped design a selection, training and certification process that converted small village-based shops selling sodas and soap into small agri-retailers who sold seeds, ferti- lizer and other inputs and advised farmers on their proper use.  With the rapid growth of mobile phones in Africa, opportunities were opened for farmers to receive market and other information directly. Adesina was able to help them obtain the inputs they needed through a first-of-its-kind Electronic Wallet (E-Wallet) system, which pro- vided subsidized electronic vouch- ers directly to the farmers’ mobile phones, vouchers that were then used like cash to purchase fertilizer and seeds directly from agri-retailers. This led to a revolution in acces- sibility to the basic tools that farm- ers needed in order to significantly increase the quality and quantity of the crops they planted.  Within the first four years of instituting the E-Wallet system, the lives of 14.5 million farmers and their families had been dramatically transformed. Among these were 2.5 “THENEWAGRICULTURE GOSPELISSIMPLE: TOLIFTMILLIONSOUT OFPOVERTY,AGRICULTURE MUSTBETREATEDAS ABUSINESS.” —AkinwumiAyodejiAdesina million women farmers who were reached and empowered by having mobile phones. The efficient deliv- ery of inputs to farmers combined with other interventions saw a sharp growth of $2 billion in five value chains of cassava, rice, sorghum, maize and cotton. “Today, we have tissue culture bananas that yield 40 tons per hec- tare, pro-vitamin A cassava and water efficient maize,” Adesina said. “The new agriculture gospel is simple: to lift millions out of poverty, agricul- ture must be treated as a business. Doing so gives hope for economic prosperity for Africa.” His hope is that rural African communities, where agriculture is one of the biggest sources of work, will be strengthened in an era where manufacturing jobs commonly attract people to large urban centers. Adesina committed his $250,000 World Food Prize award to set up a fund fully dedicated to providing financing for the youth of Africa to get involved in agriculture. —with files from the World Food Prize Foundation