Jakaya Kikwete to be announced Africa Food Prize New Chair

The Africa Food Prize Committee is set to announce Jakaya Kikwete as the new chair for the prestigious award. The announcement is scheduled to take place at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Friday, February 17, 2023, on the sidelines of the African Union Summit.

Kikwete will take over from the outgoing Chair of the Africa Food Prize Committee, H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo. The ceremony will be presided over by H.E. Hailermariam Dessalegn, former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, AGRA Board Chair, and AGRF Partners Group.

The Africa Food Prize is the preeminent award recognizing an outstanding individual or institution leading the effort to change the reality of farming in Africa from a struggle to survive to a thriving business. The prize is now in its seventh year. Previous winners have included a Ghanaian plant geneticist, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, and researchers from Burkina Faso and Uganda.

Kikwete, a former President of Tanzania, is highly regarded for his leadership and development initiatives. He has also actively promoted the agricultural transformation and food security in Africa.

The media is invited to attend the press conference, where Kikwete will be officially announced as the new chair for the Africa Food Prize, and the 2023 call for nominations will be launched. The event is set to take place on Friday, February 17, 2023, at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.