Scholarship details
The Africa Food Prize grew out of the Yara Prize, which was founded in 2005. With agriculture emerging as Africa’s best option for enhancing food security and economic opportunity, the Africa Food Prize, a $100,000 reward, has been established to stimulate innovations in the field and the marketplace.
Today, there are glimpses of the great advances African farmers can make when they have what they need to succeed, and how the food they produce and the revenue they earn can send positive vibrations throughout the economy in places like Ghana and elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, numerous obstacles persist. In addition to a shortage of capital, millions of farmers lack knowledge of effective agricultural techniques and have little or no access to high-quality agricultural inputs, safe storage, and basic processing, all of which contribute to a stifling of production and revenue potential.
About the Scholarship:
The Africa Food Prize is the top prize honoring an exceptional individual or organization who is leading the charge to transform Africa’s farming reality from a battle to survive to a thriving business. The $100,000 prize honors Africans who are reshaping Africa’s agricultural agenda. It focuses on daring ideas and technical advances that may be duplicated across Africa to usher in a new era of food security and economic opportunity for all. African leaders, both public and private, have embraced agriculture’s potential to deliver a more secure and prosperous future, and there are glimpses of the enormous progress African farmers can make when they have what they need to succeed, and how the food they produce and the income they earn can send positive vibrations throughout the economy. However, much work remains to be done; millions of farmers continue to lack access to high-quality agricultural inputs that allow them to grow more with less.Farmers continue to face barriers to market access. Farmers obtain low prices for small quantities of produce if they are not confined by distance. Many farmers also lack access to storage, which means they must sell their food at harvest time when the price is lowest, or risk having the quality of their produce deteriorate over time due to inadequate storage methods. Farmers may also be sluggish to adopt contemporary agricultural practices that are more productive, commercial, and sustainable due to a lack of technical understanding. And, as the effects of climate change become more apparent, the need to continue learning and adapting becomes even more critical as farmers contend with increasingly difficult conditions. The Africa Food Prize was established to recognize pioneering efforts to overcome these challenges and to encourage others to follow in their footsteps. The Africa Food Prize was founded in 2005 by Yara International ASA in Norway to recognize achievements in African agriculture. Individuals from Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, Malawi, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Mozambique were honored with the Yara Prize for their accomplishment in making African farms more productive, profitable, and resilient. The Africa Food Prize honors amazing women, men, and organizations whose contributions to African agriculture are helping to usher in a new era of long-term food security and economic opportunity for all Africans. The Africa Food Prize, which builds on the Yara Prize’s values and principles, shines a bright light on achievements and innovations with transformative power that can be scaled and duplicated across the continent to end hunger and poverty and create a key new source of jobs and income. The Africa Food Prize trophy was inherited from the Yara Prize, which was first presented in 2005 in Oslo, Norway. Cathrine Maske, a Norwegian glass artist, handcrafted it to represent the progress and prosperity of African agriculture. The color green is a clear nod to the African Green Revolution. Hundreds of strong submissions were submitted in 2021, and the Prize was awarded to The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) for efforts that increased food security in 13 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa after a thorough examination. The Tropical Legumes Project was implemented by ICRISAT and a group of partners between 2007 and 2019. The project developed 266 improved legume varieties and nearly half a million tons of seed for a variety of legume crops, including cowpeas, pigeon peas, chickpea, common bean, groundnut, and soybean, in collaboration with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). Over 25 million smallholder farmers have benefited from these novel varieties, which have helped them become more adaptable to climate change, pests, and disease.
Scholarship Sponsor(s): Africa Food Prize
Scholarship Country: Kenya
Scholarship Worth: $100,000
Study Level: Entrepreneur
Nationality: International Students
Scholarship Offer:
A trophy, a certificate, and $100,000 are all included in the prize package.
Eligibility for Scholarship.
- The Africa Food Prize may be bestowed upon any individual or identifiable group of individuals, as well as established institutions, associations, organizations, or government bodies with a formal and recognized judicial and organizational structure that contributes to the Prize’s overall objectives.
- The Prize may be presented to any qualified candidate, regardless of nationality, profession, or location, whose work and contributions resulting from the work have had a significant impact on the African situation, whether domestically, regionally, or for the entire continent.
- The Prize can be given in recognition of a singular contribution or achievement, or a series of recent efforts and outcomes, ideally within the last few years. Members of the Africa Food Prize Committee, or institutions/organizations headed by such a person, are ineligible for the Prize.
- The Prize cannot be granted to someone who has already died, however it will be delivered if a Prize winner dies before receiving the Prize. More than one winner may receive the Prize, but no more than two.
- If the reward is shared, each winner will get an equal amount of money (USD 100,000 divided in two), a diploma, and a trophy.
Call for Nominations for the Africa Food Prize: Interview Date, Process, and Location
- Measurable contribution to decreasing poverty and hunger and/or enhancing food and nutrition security
- Measurable contribution to supplying an essential source of income and/or employment
- Scalability, replication, and sustainability have the potential to bring about transformative change.
- African audiences and organizations have become more conscious and cooperative.
- Individual or organization with demonstrated leadership potential, particularly the ability to endure in the face of adversity
Nationality
The Africa Food Prize for Innovation in African Agriculture, Kenya is open to all International Africans Students
Application Procedure
Please complete the online nomination form, attach any supporting documents, and submit it.
Application Deadline
The application deadline for Africa Food Prize for Innovation in African Agriculture, Kenya is May 16, 2022. It should be worthy of note that the Africa Food Prize for Innovation in African Agriculture, Kenya is renewable for each year.
