Kofi Annan to Assume Post as Chairman of the Board of AGRA

Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan was appointed by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) as its first chairman. While still with the UN, Annan has called for a “new uniquely African Green Revolution” that will feed the continent. As Chairman of the Board of AGRA, Annan will meet with African farmers, entrepreneurs, scientists and political leaders to discuss and promote the work of the Alliance. He will articulate the Alliance’s goal to dramatically boost farm productivity and incomes while at the same time safeguarding the environment and advancing equity.

AGRA was established last year with grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation in response to recent calls by African leaders to focus on Africa’s agricultural development. The Alliance is already working with African crop scientists and small-scale farmers to use conventional breeding techniques to develop more productive and resilient varieties of Africa’s major food crops, as well as the means to distribute them. It is also supporting program that will increase the number of African agricultural scientists and program to monitor and evaluate its work.

The news article is available at http://www.agra-alliance.org/news/pr061407.html.