World Food Prize Foundation honors African agri-food innovators in Nairobi

The World Food Prize Foundation announced three major awards at DialogueNEXT in Nairobi, recognizing African leaders advancing food security, youth development and crop innovation. The event also launched a new regional food systems white paper and set up immersion visits across Africa’s research and farming ecosystem.

Why it matters: - The awards spotlight African-led work that is helping strengthen food security, farmer productivity and youth pathways into agriculture. - The recognition also signals growing attention to the continent’s role in shaping future food systems.

What happened: - The World Food Prize Foundation announced three awards at DialogueNEXT in Africa in Nairobi on June 30, 2026. - The awards were the Norman E. Borlaug Medallion, the Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application, Endowed by the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Inspiring the Next Generation Award. - The awards were presented before ministers, agricultural leaders, agripreneurs, scientists and farmers gathered under the theme “Born to Feed the Future.” - Akinwumi Adesina opened the conference by saying dialogue is where consensus is built and asking what kind of Africa people choose to build.

The details: - The Norman E. Borlaug Medallion went to AGRA for 20 years of work supporting smallholder farmers across Africa. - Mashal Husain, president of the World Food Prize Foundation, presented the medallion. - The award recognizes AGRA’s role in building systems, partnerships and farmer networks that support African food security. - Alice Ruhweza, president of AGRA, accepted the award and thanked the foundation and AGRA’s founders. - Pamela Afokpe, a plant breeder at East-West Seed, received the Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application. - Afokpe’s work professionalizing indigenous crops has transformed smallholder farming across West Africa. - Afokpe developed the Sika Gboma variety of a traditional West African leafy vegetable. - The variety has been scaled to thousands of farmers across Benin and beyond. - The Foundation’s Inspiring the Next Generation Award went to Kenneth Monjero, coordinator of the Kenya Youth Institute and founder of the Fun & Education Global Network. - Monjero’s organization provides hands-on STEM education, mentorship and career development for children and youth. - The award recognizes educators and implementing partners in Foundation youth programs, including the Borlaug-Ruan International Internship, regional Youth Institutes and the Global Youth Institute. - Monjero said food security needs young people involved and called for engaging and empowering young learners.

Between the lines: - The honors reinforce a broader message that food security depends on systems, not just individual farms or technologies. - The youth award suggests the Foundation is investing in the next generation of agriculture leaders, not only current industry figures. - The conference’s Africa focus reflects a wider push to frame the continent as a source of innovation, not just need. - The event’s white paper launch shows the Foundation is linking awards and convenings to policy and systems analysis.

What's next: - Attendees will take part in immersion events focused on the researchers, technologies and farming systems shaping Africa’s food system. - Planned visits include the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT, CIMMYT, Hello Tractor, the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, the International Livestock Research Institute, the International Potato Center, the International Rice Research Institute and WorldFish. - DialogueNEXT in Africa comes ahead of the Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue in Des Moines, Iowa, on Oct. 20-22, 2025. - The MENA2050 Food Systems Committee’s new white paper is expected to inform longer-term discussion on climate stress, water scarcity, import dependency, market volatility and social inequality across the Middle East and North Africa.

The bottom line: - The World Food Prize Foundation used DialogueNEXT in Nairobi to honor African innovators, elevate youth engagement and connect food-security work across research, policy and farming networks.