On the day that he was presented with the 2017 World Food Prize, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina spoke to the Alliance for Science about how technological advances can help Africa feed itself and unlock the potential of agriculture .
Adesina, the president of the African Development Bank, is being presented with the $250,000 award for galvanizing political will to transform African agriculture, according to the foundation that has bestowed the annual prize since 1986.
The Alliance asked Adesina about the 2015 passage of a biosafety law in his home country of Nigeria as well as the nation’s plans to release pest-resistant Bt cowpea and cotton next year.
Here is what he had to say about what these technologies mean for food security and health improvements in Nigeria and across Africa: