Kenyan to head pan-Africa agric body

Pan-Africa’s small scale agriculture financing organisation, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), has named a Kenyan woman as its new president.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Pan-Africa’s small scale agriculture financing organisation, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), has named a Kenyan woman as its new president.

 Kenyan business leader Jane Karuku would be the new president of AGRA, in replacement of Dr. Namanga Ngongi, who is retiring after five years as the first president, said a statement released from AGRA’s headquarters in Nairobi.    AGRA aims to trigger green revolution in Africa to ensure the continent feeds itself by increasing farm yields among small scale farmers and commercialising small scale agriculture.    "Hundreds of thousands of poor rural households in Africa have already benefited from AGRA’s work and under Karuku’s leadership we can look forward to continued success in moving African farmers along a path to prosperity and ensuring food security,” said former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, chairman of the AGRA.    Karuku’s career has spanned over 20 years, most of which has been spent in the agricultural sector.