Accra, Ghana
November 14, 2007
Alongside Kofi A. Annan, A.
Namanga Ngongi to lead AGRA’s work to end poverty and hunger of
Africa’s small-scale farmers
The Alliance for a Green
Revolution in Africa (AGRA) today announced the naming of
Dr. A. Namanga Ngongi as its first president. Ngongi is in Accra
meeting with Ghanaian government officials, after which he will
return to AGRA headquarters in Nairobi.
Ngongi began his career in the fields alongside farmers in his
native Cameroon, where he worked as an agricultural officer
helping farmers improve yield and diversify and market their
crops. His career has spanned involvement in international
organisations, and has included serving as Deputy Executive
Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and
leading the peace-keeping mission in war-torn Congo for the
United Nations.
“Dr. Ngongi’s leadership will strengthen AGRA’s efforts to help
millions of small-scale farmers and their families end poverty,”
said Kofi A. Annan, Chairman of the Board of AGRA and former
Secretary-General of the United Nations. “Ngongi is a man of
vision, dedicated to the eradication of hunger and poverty. He
knows the vital importance of agricultural development, and that
ambitious goals inspire the energy and will necessary to achieve
them.”
AGRA is an African-led and African-inspired partnership of
farmers, scientists, governments, the private sector and civil
society. AGRA aims to significantly increase the productivity
and incomes of millions of small-scale farmers by supporting
sustainable, innovative agricultural practices that help poor
farmers and their families lift themselves out of poverty and
hunger.
AGRA programs focus on issues across the agricultural “value
chain”-- from seeds, soil health, and water, to markets,
agricultural education and public policy. AGRA programs to date
include targeted efforts to develop new varieties of Africa’s
orphan food crops that are low-yielding and highly vulnerable to
disease; support for agricultural education including sponsoring
two new PhD programs in leading African universities; and
efforts to develop seed distribution networks and markets for
poor farmers. AGRA also advocates for public policies that
support small-scale farmers.
“I am proud and eager to serve as president of AGRA,” Ngongi
said. “AGRA’s goals are my own. There is no acceptable reason
for Africa’s farmers to be poor. Working with their many allies,
farmers can move beyond mere subsistence farming. With access to
the needed tools and technologies and with responsible
stewardship of our natural resources, we can bring prosperity to
Africa’s farmers and their families.”
History of Service
Born in Buea, Cameroon, in 1945, Ngongi earned a bachelor’s
degree in agriculture from California State Polytechnic
University, San Luis Obispo, Calif. He earned masters and
doctorate degrees in agronomy from Cornell University, in
Ithaca, N.Y. Ngongi went on to earn a postgraduate certificate
in agricultural and rural development project planning from the
University of Bradford, in the United Kingdom.
Early in his career, Ngongi worked with village farmers for
Cameroon’s Ministry of Agriculture. He motivated farmers to grow
new crops such as yams and plantains, and worked to help them
control plant-damaging pests. Later, collaborating with the
Government of Ghana and Cornell University, he headed a joint
soils research project aimed at ensuring sustained production of
basic food crops across the country’s agro-ecological zones. He
supervised the establishment of rural development institutions
and agro-industrial enterprises in Cameroon.
Ngongi began his international service with the Cameroon Embassy
in Rome, where he played an active role in key committees of the
UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.
He joined the WFP in 1984, heading operational activities in 17
countries in Eastern and Southern Africa, and addressing the
populations’ needs after the devastating droughts in Ethiopia,
Sudan and the Sahel.
In 2001, Ngongi became Under-Secretary-General of the UN and
head of the organisation’s peacekeeping mission in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
As special representative of the UN Secretary-General, Ngongi
managed a mission comprised of 6,000 troops from seven countries
and a civilian staff of over 1,500 from more than 60 countries.
He organised several local peace negotiations between warring
factions in the midst of fighting, hunger and disease, while
working to deliver humanitarian aid. His efforts are credited
with contributing significantly to the overall success of the
peace negotiations as well as the formation of a transitional
government in the DRC.
Ngongi retired from the UN in 2003, and returned to Cameroon. He
has since taken up farming on his own farm, while also
undertaking several high-level missions for the UN, including a
study on food reserve systems in Africa.
“It is not enough to know about the problems of farmers from
26,000 feet in the air,” Ngongi said. “I know about the problems
of farmers on the ground, and I know that with the support of
AGRA partnerships, we can overcome those problems.”
Ngongi succeeds interim president Dr. Gary Toenniessen, who has
presided since AGRA’s founding in September 2006.
About the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
AGRA is a dynamic partnership working across the African
continent to help millions of small-scale farmers and their
families lift themselves out of poverty and hunger. AGRA
programs develop practical solutions to significantly boost farm
productivity and incomes for the poor while safeguarding the
environment. AGRA advocates for policies that support its work
across all key aspects of the African agricultural “value
chain”—from seeds, soil health, and water to markets and
agricultural education.
AGRA’s Board is chaired by Kofi A. Annan, the former
Secretary-General of the United Nations. With initial support
from the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation, AGRA maintains offices in Nairobi, Kenya and Accra,
Ghana. For more information, go to
www.agra-alliance.org
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