Nigeria Celebrates Professor Ademola Adenle’s Global Award for Food and Peace

News in Brief

-President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has commended Professor Ademola Adenle for winning the Global Award for Food and Peace, which recognises contribution to sustainable agriculture, food security, and public health.

-Adenle announced the Women in Biosciences Initiative to empower rural women farmers through innovation and entrepreneurship.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has officially received Professor Ademola Adenle, a leading Nigerian scholar and sustainability expert, in celebration of his recent win of the inaugural Global M.S. Swaminathan Award for Food and Peace. 

The president received Professor Adenle on Monday, for the first time since his historic win in August at New Delhi, as the first recipient of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) honour.

Adenle made history in August as the first-ever recipient of the M.S. Swaminathan Award for Food and Peace, presented by India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, during the M.S. Swaminathan Centenary International Conference in New Delhi.

At the meeting attended by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari (CON), President Tinubu praised the award-winning global scholar for elevating Nigeria’s international profile in sustainable development and research.  

“Your achievement is not just personal; it is national,” President Tinubu said. “You have made Nigeria proud by showing the world that our scientists are leading efforts to build a fairer, healthier, and more food-secure future.”

Professor Adenle, who is the Senior Special Adviser on Agricultural Innovation at Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, was honoured for pioneering research that has impacted vulnerable communities across Africa.

Named after the iconic Indian scientist and “Father of the Green Revolution” Professor M.S. Swaminathan, the award, which is also regarded as a mini Nobel Peace Prize, honours individuals from developing countries who have made transformative contributions to food security, sustainable agriculture, and peacebuilding. 

Following the presidential meeting, Professor Adenle announced the upcoming launch of the Women in Biosciences Initiative. This programme aims to increase rural agricultural productivity through targeted training, entrepreneurship, and innovation. It will also address malnutrition, promote renewable solar energy, and fight waterborne illnesses in rural Nigeria. 

Developed in collaboration with the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation and global partners, the initiative extends Swaminathan’s vision of leveraging science for social equity in Africa and Asia.