Hon. Dr Akinwumi Ayo Adesina (Federal Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development) is a scholar of African agriculture, economics and development, and a tireless champion of the Agricultural Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), which boosts food security for the continent. A citizen of Nigeria, Adesina was recently appointed by the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, as one of 17 world leaders who will help to galvanize international support for the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. The eight goals aim to improve dramatically the lives of the world's poorest people by 2015.

As vice president for policy and partnerships for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, Adesina fosters cooperation among African governments, donors, farmers' organizations and the private sector to stimulate agricultural growth and to unlock new opportunities for farmers. Before joining AGRA in 2008, Adesina was associate director for Food Security at the Rockefeller Foundation for more than a decade. He has held senior scientific positions within the international agricultural research centers of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, including the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, West Africa Rice Development Association and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics.

In 2008, he was honored with Purdue University's College of Agriculture Distinguished Agricultural Alumni Award, for his inspiring leadership in spearheading transformative change in African agriculture. Last year, Adesina won the Borlaug CAST Communications Prize for his passion and dedication to agricultural research and technology. He was awarded the YARA Prize in 2007 for his pioneering work developing rural agro-dealer networks that help make supplies more affordable to millions of small-scale farmers across the continent. He is currently working on innovative ways to leverage billion of dollars in affordable credit for African small-scale farmers through public and private partnerships. More recently, he was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters from Franklin & Marshall College, USA. Adesina received a doctorate in agricultural economics from Purdue University, where he won the Outstanding Ph.D. Adesina has published extensively in international journals and books on reducing poverty and hunger in Africa.
Dr. Adesina is currently serving as the Federal Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nigeria, a position to which he was appointed in July 2011.