Agnes Kalibata

Agnes Matilda Kalibata is a Rwandan agricultural scientist and policymaker, visionary leader, and president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). Dr. Kalibata served as the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General.

Early life and education

Kalibata was born in Rwanda and raised as a refugee in Uganda to parents who were smallholders. She earned a bachelor's degree in entomology and biochemistry, followed by a master's degree in agriculture, both from Makerere University in Uganda.

In the six years she was minister, Rwanda's poverty level dropped more than 50 percent; its agricultural sector's annual budget grew from under US$10 million to over US$150 million; and Rwanda became the first country to sign a compact under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (an initiative of the African Union Commission). an African-led organization whose mission is to improve the food security and incomes of 30 million farming households in 11 African countries by 2021 by, among other things, providing access to better seeds and credit.

Kalibata has held multiple roles in MINAGRI, Rwanda's Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources; she was appointed permanent secretary of the ministry in 2006, Minister of State in Charge of Agriculture in 2008, and full Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources in 2009. She has also held numerous other positions including chair of the board of the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry and chair of the Rwanda's National Clinical Research Center. She served on the International Food Policy Research Institute's Advisory Council and managed a World Bank project in Rwanda. She is also a member of many national and international boards including for the University of Rwanda, Africa Risk Capacity, the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council, the Global Commission on Adaptation and the Malabo Montpellier Panel of Agriculture and Food Security Experts.

Political positions

Kalibata has been instrumental in advocating for gender equality in Rwanda, emphasizing the economic benefits of encouraging women to play a more public role in society as Rwanda recovered from the 1994 Rwandan genocide that killed 800,000 people in three months and left Rwanda's population 60% female.

Honors and awards

In 2012, Kalibata was awarded the Yara Prize (now called the Africa Food Prize), which recognizes an outstanding individual or institution leading the effort to change the reality of farming in Africa.