Today: African agricultural scientist to discuss agriculture as a path toward economic growth

The National Press Club International Correspondents Committee will host Dr. Agnes Kalibata, head of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and former Minister of Agriculture of Rwanda, at 9:30 a.m. Friday, April 26, in the McClendon Room, to discuss agricultural development issues in Africa.

Kalibata, an agricultural scientist and policymaker, is in Washington to receive the 2019 National Academy of Sciences Public Welfare Medal. Laureates include Dr. Paul Farmer, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill and Melinda Gates, and Alan Alda. The award recognizes Kalibata’s efforts to use modern science and social policy to improve Africa’s agricultural infrastructure with the goal of improving the welfare of Rwandans and the livelihoods of African farmers.

Ahead of the award ceremony, the ICC will hear her perspectives on agriculture as the a path to Africa’s economic growth and to address the challenges of food security, youth unemployment and immigration. Kalibata will also share her personal story about growing up up in a refugee camp where her parents farmed a small plot to feed her and her 14 siblings.

In addition, Kalibata will be available to discuss Africa’s economic development, climate change adaptation through agriculture, building sustainable food systems, international cooperation and financing for Africa’s development, creating decent jobs for the youth in Africa to stem the tide of migration, investing in Africa’s agribusiness and food market, and he role of government and policies in the transformation.

For more information, contact ICC chair Carmen Russell-Sluchansky at [email protected].