Akinwumi Adesina

Akinwumi Adesina

Akinwumi Adesina is a highly experienced and internationally respected agricultural development and policy expert, with over 20 years of top-level experience in African agricultural and rural development. He has served on major global initiatives on agriculture and poverty reduction in Africa, developed innovative models for accelerating agricultural growth for poor African farmers, interacted at the highest levels of policy making and influenced African Heads of State to develop bold policy initiatives for the poor.

Adesina, who has a Doctorate in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University, is passionately pro-poor and committed to ensuring that Africa achieves its green revolution. This aspiration is channeled through his role as Associate Director, Food Security and Africa Regional Program at the Rockefeller Foundation. 

Adesina led the Rockefeller Foundation to embark on a major restructuring of its world-renowned agricultural sciences program to incorporate a major focus on market development for farmers. He now manages an Africa-wide program on the development of agricultural markets, policies and institutions for increasing incomes of poor rural households.