WORLD FOOD PRIZE 2017

The World Food Prize is presented each October on or around UN World Food Day (October 16) in a pomp-filled ceremony in the magnificent Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. In addition to the cash award, the Laureate receives a sculpture designed by the noted artist and designer, Saul Bass. 

The World Food Prize emphasizes the importance of a nutritious and sustainable food supply for all people. By honoring those who have worked successfully toward this goal, The Prize calls attention to what has been done to improve global food security and to what can be accomplished in the future.

It is the foremost international honor recognizing -- without regard to race, religion, nationality, or political beliefs -- the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world.

The $250,000 annual award recognizes contributions in any field involved in the world food supply. 

The World Food Prize was created in 1986 and has honored outstanding individuals from countries around the world, including Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Cape Verde, China, Cuba, Denmark, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Israel, Mexico, Sierra Leone, Switzerland, Uganda, United Kingdom, the United Nations and the United States.

The World Food Prize has become a week-long set of events drawing over 1,000 participants from over 50 countries. In addition to the Laureate Award Ceremony, the World Food Prize series of events include the: Borlaug Dialogue International Symposium; Global Youth Institute for high school students; Iowa Hunger Summit; Laureate Lecture Series; and presentation of the Dr. Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application, endowed by the Rockefeller Foundation. 

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), is the  2017 World Food Prize Laureate. Through his roles over the past two decades with the Rockefeller Foundation, at the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), and as Minister of Agriculture of Nigeria, Dr. Adesina has been at the forefront of galvanizing political will to transform African agriculture through initiatives to: expand agricultural production, thwart corruption in the Nigerian fertilizer industry and exponentially increase the availability of credit for smallholder farmers across the African continent. 

Video package French language version.