The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), a leading African agricultural development organisation, driving small-holder led agricultural transformation in Africa, has announced a major leadership change.

AGRA’s current President, Jane Karuku, has stepped down from her position, after serving as the second president of the organisation since its founding in 2007.

A statement issued by AGRA on Wednesday and made available to the Ghana News Agency said Dr. Agnes Kalibata, a Board member of AGRA has been named as interim President for the organisation.

Dr. Kalibata was until recently the Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources for Rwanda, where she led an agricultural transformation agenda focused on increasing small-holder productivity. This approach yielded impressive results including one of Rwanda becoming food secure and reducing poverty by near record levels.

“Agnes Kalibata has a distinguished track record as an agricultural scientist, policy maker and thought leader, which makes her uniquely qualified to take on the interim President role at AGRA. The AGRA Board thanks her for taking up this role,” the statement quoted the Chairman of AGRA’s Board of Directors, Mr. Strive Masiyiwa as saying.

The AGRA partners remain committed to scaling the agricultural transformation agenda, and re-affirmed this during the AGRA Green Revolution Forum in Addis Ababa last week.

The AGRA is a dynamic partnership working across the African continent to help millions of small-scale farmers and their families to lift themselves out of poverty and hunger. AGRA programmes develop practical solutions to significantly boost farm productivity and incomes for the poor while safeguarding the environment.

It said 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 works across sub-Saharan Africa and maintains a head office in Nairobi, Kenya; a regional office for West Africa in Accra, Ghana; and country offices in Mali, Mozambique and Tanzania.