Purdue alum and World Food Prize laureate speaks at Presidential Lecture Series

Alumnus and World Food Prize laureate Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina receives Purdue's Order of the Griffin from President Mitch Daniels on Monday (Oct. 23) at the Presidential Lecture Series. The Order of the Griffin, one of Purdue's highest honors, is given to individuals whose commitment and service to the university go well beyond the call of duty, and whose strength and vision have greatly benefited the institution.(Purdue University photo/Rebecca Wilcox) Download image

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The most recent World Food Prize laureate joined Purdue President Mitch Daniels on Monday (Oct. 23) as part of the fall 2017 Presidential Lecture Series.

Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina, a Purdue alumnus and president of the African Development Bank Group, spoke with Daniels at Stewart Center’s Loeb Playhouse. The event came during the same week Adesina received as the 2017 World Food Prize. The World Food Prize, often referred to as the Nobel Prize for food and agriculture, is the highest international honor recognizing the achievements of those who have advanced human development by improving quality, quantity and availability of food in the world.

Adesina was honored as this year’s recipient in recognition of his work with the Rockefeller Foundation, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and as minister of agriculture for Nigeria. For the past 20 years, he has dedicated his career to improving the agricultural sector in Africa, having led initiatives to expand agricultural production, end corruption in the Nigerian fertilizer industry, and increase the availability of credit for smallholder farmers across the African continent.

“Purdue’s researchers and alumni have helped feed the planet by making significant contributions in science-based agriculture and food science, and there is no calling that is both more noble and necessary,” Daniels said. “Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina continues that tradition, and we are thrilled that he will join us to discuss his extraordinary work.”

As a Purdue graduate, earning his master’s (1985) and doctoral (1988) degrees in agricultural economics as well as receiving an honorary doctorate from Purdue (2015), Adesina joins Purdue faculty members Gebisa Ejeta (2009) and Philip Nelson (2007) as World Food Prize laureates. For more information, visit https://www.purdue.edu/pls/.

Contact: Abigail Eddy, director of marketing, Purdue Convocations, 765-494-5045, aeeddy@purdue.edu