Chief Afe Babalola, a prominent farmer and founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), has been named the 2024 African Man of the Year in food security. The award was conferred by the Global Food Security Committee of the Initiative for Green Sustainability. Babalola emerged as the winner among ten nominees from various sub-Saharan African countries.
The Award Committee highlighted Babalola’s significant contributions to food security, recognising his efforts in agriculture and various initiatives aimed at promoting sustainable farming practices. Some of the initiatives mentioned include ABUAD Bio-Diversified Farms, the Afe Babalola Annual Agricultural Grants, the ABUAD Talent Discovery Centre, the ABUAD Planetarium, the ABUAD Industrial Park, and ABUAD FM Radio.
Babalola expressed his elation at receiving the award and stated that it would motivate him to continue his efforts to enhance agriculture’s role as a competitive revenue earner. He emphasised the importance of promoting agriculture among Nigerian youths and called on the federal government to revive moribund farm settlements across the country. Babalola advocated for the inclusion of agriculture in all levels of education and recommended direct allocations to local governments to boost agricultural development.
The pro-chancellor of ABUAD urged the government to recognise successful farmers and promoters of farming with national honours. He emphasised the need for increased budgetary allocations to the agriculture sector and the implementation of sustainable policies to attract youth to agriculture.
