Akinwunmi Adesina

“I am somebody who is focused in life. The only thing that gives me satisfaction is seeing people transform and not just in terms of one or two but in terms of tens of millions of people. That is what keeps me awake every day and that is what I do,”

Please allow me to introduce to you Akinwumi “Akin” Adesina. Akin Adesina is the current President of the African Development Bank “AfDB”. He is the eighth president, of the AfDB and the first Nigerian to hold the post. The AfDB Group is a regional multilateral development finance institution established to contribute to the economic development and social progress of African countries that are the institution’s Regional Member Countries.

He graduated with a Bachelors in Agricultural Economics with First Class Honors from the University of Ife, Nigeria, where he was the first student to be awarded this distinction by the university. He pursued his studies at Purdue University in Indiana and obtained his PhD (Agricultural Economics) in 1988 from Purdue where he won the Outstanding PhD Thesis for his research work. Worth noting here is that when Adesina was a student at the university, his professor told him he would not gain admission to the prestigious Purdue University in the United States because of his inability to solve a mathematical problem. He promptly cancelled his admission to Cambridge University, where he had already been accepted for his PhD, to take his Professor up on his challenge. Not only did he complete his PHD, he also won the most outstanding PHD thesis. Talk about trail blazing, little wonder his career took off with the exceptional degrees under his belt.

Dr. Adesina held senior leadership positions within the international agricultural research centers of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), including the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). He worked at the Rockefeller Foundation after winning a fellowship from the Foundation as a senior scientist in 1988 which launched his international career in global agricultural development.

From 1990 to 1995, Adesina served as a senior economist at West African Rice Development Association (WARDA) in Bouaké, Ivory Coast.

Dr. Adesina joined Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa “AGRA” in 2008 as Vice President of Policy & Partnerships where he fostered cooperation among African governments, donors, farmers’ organizations and the private sector to stimulate agricultural growth and to unlock new opportunities for farmers.

In 2010, Dr. Adesina was appointed by the United Nations Secretary General, as one of 17 world leaders to galvanize international support for the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Dr. Adesina also serves on the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition, launched at the G8 Food and Nutrition Summit 2013 in London. From 2010 to 2015, he was Nigeria’s Agriculture Minister; his tenure received a lot of praises for his reforms in the sector. When he served as Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development from 2010 to 2015, he implemented bold policy reforms in the fertilizer sector and endorsed innovative agricultural investment programs to expand opportunities for the private sector. He set up a $350 million lending facility that was backed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, which would reduce the risk of lending to these farmers by commercial banks, resulting in about $3.5 billion of financing for farmers in Nigeria.

In 2016, Dr Adesina was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General to serve as member of the Lead Group of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement.

AWARDS 

In 2007, Dr. Adesina was awarded the prestigious YARA Prize in Oslo, Norway for his leadership in pioneering innovative approaches to improve access of agricultural inputs for African farmers. He received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Purdue University in 2008, the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2009 and the Grand Commander of Greater Ife in 2013, both from the Obafemi Awolowo University.

He was awarded the Borlaug CAST Award in 2010 by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, USA, for his global leadership on agricultural science and technology. The same year, Dr. Adesina was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Franklin and Marshall College, USA, for his global leadership on agriculture and improving the lives and livelihoods of the poor.

In 2012, the minister was conferred with second highest National Honor, the Commander of the Order of Niger, for his outstanding service to his country. In 2013, the minster was awarded the Forbes Africa Person of the Year for his bold reforms in Nigeria’s agriculture sector.

In 2013, Adesina won the Forbes Africa Person of the Year award for his bold reforms in Nigeria’s agriculture sector. His reforms empowered more than six million farmers across Nigeria to embrace agriculture as a business.

In 2017, he was awarded the World Food Prize. The World Food Prize has been labelled the Nobel Prize for Agriculture. The prize was first awarded in 1987 in recognition of the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world. Since 1987, the prize has been awarded annually to recognize contributions in any field involved in the world food supply: food and agriculture science and technology, manufacturing, marketing, nutrition, economics, poverty alleviation, political leadership, and the social sciences. He donated the $250,000 prize money he received to the development of African youth in agriculture.

In 2018, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor by Afe Babalola University.

In 2019, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina won the Sunhak Peace prize for promoting Good Governance in Africa through agricultural innovation for over 30 years and greatly contributed to food security in Africa. He was awarded an Honourary Doctor of Science Degree by the University of Alberta, Canada.

As AfDB president, Adesina launched a strategy based on energy, agriculture, industrialization, regional integration and improving Africans’ lives.

He launched a strategy based on energy, agriculture, industrialization, regional integration and bettering Africans’ lives. The Board of Executive Directors approved the reorganization of the structure around these five priorities and opined that if this is achieved. Since his appointment as AfDB president, The African Development Bank is also now increasingly seen as an employer of choice. Earlier last year, the Bank was listed forth in the survey of the Best Companies to Work for in Africa. This was a remarkable improvement from the Bank’s 82nd position in 2015. In 2015, before Adesina joined the group, the bank’s income had declined to $492 million. Within a year, income grew and by 2017, it stood at $783 million.

Growing up with four siblings in an area with poor sanitation and inadequate facilities, Akin Adesina is quite familiar with poverty. His profound connection to agriculture goes back to his early years and family heritage. His father was a farmer who taught Adesina that class did not matter and the importance of education as a social leveler.

“Sometimes we pass by gold all the time and see gold as dirt. And we look at agriculture like that when in fact it is the biggest business in the world. So, for me I really want young people to be in agriculture as a business,” says Akin Adesina.

Not surprising that Akin Adesina knew from an early age that he wanted to do something for the greater good of society and he committed himself to achieving that goal. 

The journey and success thereof are evident in all that he has accomplished. We know he will continue to do so for a very long time. We are inspired. 

We would love to hear more about this awesome personality as he continues to progress, please share more information through our contact details.