World Food Prize Foundation unites policy makers and innovators, tracing Dr. Norman Borlaug’s legacy to the continent he called “the last frontier”
Nairobi, Kenya (June 30, 2026) – Agricultural leaders, government representatives, agripreneurs, scientists and farmers from across Africa and around the world are gathering in Nairobi this week for DialogueNEXT in Africa, a high-level event to explore and accelerate agri-tech innovations for the continent.
Hosted by the World Food Prize Foundation, the conference will focus on how to seize the opportunity of feeding a continent whose population will represent more than one in four people on the planet by 2050.
High-level government representation from across the continent joined the event’s discussions, including H.E. Mutahi Kagwe, Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development, Kenya and Dr. Riana Nantenaina Randrianomenjanahary, Minister of Livestock, Madagascar.
Key sessions will address urgent issues including optimized agri-regulations, farmer-centered innovations, smallholder harvests, nutrition and food systems and value chains. A high-level ministerial panel will examine the regulatory barriers holding back African agricultural investment and innovation while a dedicated session on agripreneurship will hear rapid-fire keynotes from some of the continent’s most dynamic agripreneurs and development experts.
The event theme – “Born to Feed the Future” – emphasizes that Africa is not waiting for solutions from elsewhere. The event shines a global spotlight on the momentum building as farmers strengthen production alongside young agripreneurs, while researchers, institutions and regional partners align more closely with African realities and priorities.
DialogueNEXT brings the World Food Prize Foundation’s global journey to its third destination: Africa. Following events in Mexico (2024) and India (2025) – retracing the legacy of Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and father of the Green Revolution – the event series now arrives in Africa, a continent that Dr. Borlaug called, “the last frontier” and where he dedicated much of his energy in the latter stages of his life.
“It is an honor to hold this conference in Africa, four decades after Dr. Borlaug made his first major visit to the continent in 1984,” said Mashal Husain, President, World Food Prize Foundation. “Borlaug came with a simple but powerful conviction: that science in the hands of farmers could defeat hunger. That mission is unfinished and more urgent than ever as Africa’s food systems must feed a young, growing and increasingly urban population.”
The convening in Nairobi underscores the urgency of backing Africa’s most promising agri-food innovations and accelerating the collective response to feeding a rapidly growing population in an era of intensifying climate risk.
With El Niño now developing and forecast to be one of the strongest on record — including a near 90 percent probability of continuing into the southern hemisphere summer — DialogueNEXT in Africa arrives at a critical moment for the continent’s food systems. The stakes could not be higher: with just 2°C of warming, crop yields across sub-Saharan Africa are projected to fall by 10 percent, and warming beyond that mark could see yields drop by as much as 20 percent.
“Hosting this conversation in Africa is not just symbolic, but necessary. This continent is home to some of the world’s most dynamic agricultural systems and most resilient farmers, yet it remains chronically underinvested in,” said Akinwumi Adesina, 2017 World Food Prize Laureate; Member, World Food Prize Foundation Council of Advisors; and Former President of the African Development Bank Group. “The challenges — climate shocks, fragile supply chains, growing populations — are real, but so are the solutions, which are increasingly being developed by African scientists, farmers and entrepreneurs. The insights that emerge from Nairobi will help shape the global agenda.”
DialogueNEXT in Africa comes ahead of the Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue to be held in Des Moines, Iowa, October 20–22, 2026
For more information or interview requests:
Harvey Presence
Marchmont Communications
+44 (0) 7582 195497
Event photos are available for download at
www.worldfoodprize.org/photos.
All photos should be credited to: World Food Prize Foundation.
About the World Food Prize Foundation:
The World Food Prize Foundation elevates innovations and inspires action to sustainably increase the quality, quantity and availability of food for all. The Foundation supports this through a variety of innovative programs year-round including by: recognizing and rewarding individuals making exceptional achievements in addressing food security; convening global leaders in Des Moines each year to address the latest issues and innovations in food and agriculture; inspiring, recognizing and empowering students around the world by providing educational and professional experiences on pressing food security and agriculture issues; and addressing Iowa’s challenges and successes in fighting hunger and poverty. For more information, visit
https://www.worldfoodprize.org
