AFRICA Award winners announced at AAM2024 and ACTIF2024

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) recently announced winners of the inaugural Afreximbank-FARA Research, Innovation and Competence in Agriculture (AFRICA) Awards in Nassau, Bahamas

These prestigious awards honour individuals, groups, or established organisations that have made outstanding contributions towards improving food and nutritional security, income generation, resilience and natural resource management in Africa through research, innovation, agripreneurship and policy advocacy in the food and agriculture domain.

The awards were presented on the margins of the 2024 Afreximbank Annual Meetings (AAM2024) and AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF). The AFRICA Awards selection process is overseen by an Independent Awards Selection Committee composed of globally recognised experts and encompasses three categories which include, the Africa Research Excellence Award, the Innovation-based Entrepreneurship Award, and the Impactful and Evidence-based Policies Award.

Following a highly competitive selection process, the two laureates of the 2024 AFRICA Awards were announced:

1. Umezuruike Linus Opara: Recipient of the Africa Research Excellence Award in recognition of his contribution to developing and validating a novel integrated value-chain approach to post-harvest research and innovation, one crop at a time.

2. Professor Richard Mkandawire: Recipient of the Impactful and Evidence-based Policies Award for his foundational role in conceptualising Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and catalysing its domestication in African countries at NEPAD. 

“Africa’s vulnerability to climate shocks exacerbate its food insecurity concerns and heighten the urgency of structural transformation of its agricultural sector," said president and chairman of Board of Directors, Afreximbank, professor Benedict Oramah. "It needs to boost efficiency and productivity, modernise its agriculture, and reclaim its rightful position as a net exporter of agricultural products I applaud the winners of the Inaugural AFRICA Awards for the demonstrable and innovative impact they are delivering for agriculture.”