National Academy of Sciences awards AGRA president Agnes Kalibata

The National Academy of Sciences has awarded the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa president, Agnes Kalibata (pictured), a medal.

She was feted for her work in driving Africa’s agricultural transformation through modern science and effective policy.

According to the agency, agricultural scientist, policymaker, and visionary leader Kalibata received the 2019 NAS Public Welfare Medal for helping to lift more than a million Rwandans out of poverty and

She also scaled the impact for millions more African farmers. 

Kalibata has been president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) since 2014. The African-led organization was founded by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

It works with public and private partners to promote rapid, inclusive, sustainable agricultural growth and food security by giving farmers’ access to locally adapted and high-yielding seeds, encouraging judicious use of fertilizer, promoting policy reforms, and increasing access to structured markets to improve the livelihoods of farming households.

Prior to joining AGRA, Kalibata spent six years as Rwanda’s minister for agriculture and animal resources.

“Throughout her career, Agnes Matilda Kalibata has recognised that family farmers are the key to agricultural success, and she has consistently made them the focus of science-based policies and interventions,” said Susan Wessler, home secretary of the National Academy of Sciences and chair of the selection committee for the award.

“Under her leadership, a remarkable agricultural transformation is underway in Africa that will benefit many generations to come.”

“Agnes Kalibata has long championed science and evidence as the basis for practical agricultural policies that have transformed Rwanda to a model of prosperity and security,” said Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academy of Sciences.

She added, “Her actions exemplify science as a powerful force for growth and well-being, and we are thrilled to present her with our highest award”.

As president of AGRA, Kalibata leads a staff of more than 200 across 11 priority countries—one of the largest pools of agricultural scientists and specialists in Africa—and works with global, regional, and national partners to drive a portfolio of investments worth more than US$500 million.

AGRA’s goal is to improve the food security and incomes of 30 million farming households in the 11 countries by 2021. To date, more than $360 million has been mobilized toward this effort.

Educational background

Kalibata received a doctorate in entomology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 2005.

She then spent a decade of study and work with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture at the Kawanda Agricultural Research Institute, in collaboration with Makerere University in Uganda and the University of Massachusetts.

She briefly served as deputy vice chancellor for institutional advancement at the University of Rwanda before joining AGRA at the end of 2014.  

In 2018, Kalibata was presented with an honorary doctorate from the University of Liege, Belgium, for distinguished leadership.

In 2012, she was awarded the Yara Prize (now the Africa Food Prize), an award recognizing an outstanding individual or institution that is leading the effort to change the reality of farming in Africa.  

She is a member of many prominent national and international boards, including for the University of Rwanda, Africa Risk Capacity, the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council, the Global Commission on Adaptation, and the Malabo Montpellier Panel of Agriculture and Food Security Experts.