Kofi Annan to chair the Board of the Green Revolution in Africa

The Alliance for the Green revolution in Africa, which was established last year with an initial US$150 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, has announced the appointment of former UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan as its first chairman.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum on Africa meeting in Cape Town, Mr Annan said “I am honoured today to take up this important post and join with my fellow Africans in a new effort to comprehensively tackle the challenges holding back hundreds of millions of small-scale farmers in Africa,” He went on to say “Africa is the only region where overall food security and livelihoods are deteriorating.  We will reverse this trend by working to create an environmentally sustainable, uniquely African Green Revolution.  When our poorest farmers finally prosper, all of Africa will benefit.”