Dr. Adesina is a distinguished scholar of African Agriculture, Economics and Development, and a tireless champion of the African Green Revolution. An Agricultural Economist, with over 20 years of professional experience in African Agriculture, he is a Doctoral Graduate of Purdue University. Before joining AGRA in 2008, Dr. Adesina was Associate Director for Food Security at the Rockefeller Foundation, New York, for more than a decade. Prior to working at Rockefeller he held senior scientific positions within the International Agricultural Research Centers of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, including the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, West Africa Rice Development Association and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics. Dr. Adesina is the recipient of a number of international awards including the prestigious Borlaug Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) Communication Award in Iowa and the YARA Prize for African Green Revolution in Oslo, Norway won in 2007. He was appointed by the Secretary General of the United Nations as one of 17 world leaders who will help to galvanize international support for the United Nations Millennium Development. THE MINISTRY: The Nigerian Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development is a ministry of the Nigerian Government that regulates Agricultural Research, Agriculture and National Resources, Forestry and Veterinary Research throughout Nigeria. The ministry is responsible for various parastatals. It supervises and provides funding for research institutes such as the National Root Crops Research Institute and Colleges of Agriculture and Forestry. MISSION: To promote Agricultural Development and Management of National Resources through Agricultural value-chain approach, to achieve sustainable food security and production of agricultural raw materials to meet the needs of the expanding industrial sector. VISION: To ensure sustainable access, availability and affordability of quality food to all Nigerians and to be a significant net provider of food to the global community. Agencies under the the Federal Ministry of Agriculture: National Quarantine Services National Centre for Agriculture Mechanization Office of the Permanent representative to FAO Veterinary Council of Nigeria Nigeria Agricultural Insurance Corporation Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria National Agricultural Seed Council Nigeria Agricultural Cooperative and Rural Development Bank Federal Agricultural Coordinating Unit Strategy Grain Reserve Rural Access Mobility Project Commercial Agriculture National Agricultural Seeds Agency Fresh Water Station – Brakish Water Station National Programme on Agriculture and Food Security