Awards and Honors
AAAE values the hard work and contributions of its members. AAAE recognizes those contributions by presenting different Honors and Awards during the Triennial events.
Honorary Fellow (Distinguished Lifetime Members)
The Honorary Fellow/Distinguished Lifetime Membership Award is bestowed to a small but very distinguished group of individuals, who have been recognized for providing enormous scholarly and leadership contributions for a significant period of years, of continuous and extraordinary service to the African agricultural development.
Since the Award was introduced, the association has awarded 45 Honorary Fellows recognition. The award was given in 2007 (4); 2010 (30); 2013 (5); and 2016(6).
Triennial Awards
The Triennial Awards are conferred during the AAAE’s Triennial Conferences, and recognizes AAAE members’ contributions to the profession in a variety of categories. You can find past award winners on the AAAE Awards page.
Best Paper Awards
Urban Sprawl and Dietary Quality: Evidence from Malawi
Joshua Kafotokoza, Hannah Ameye & Matin Qaim — Center for Development Research (ZEF) / Institute for Food and Resource Economics, University of Bonn
This award recognizes the best paper overall during the 8th African conference of Agricultural Economists. This study asked a question that matters to millions of African households: as towns and cities grow, do people actually end up eating better? Drawing on ten years of household data linked to satellite maps of Malawi, the authors found a nuanced answer: urbanization brings both healthy and unhealthy foods to the table, and the real nutritional gains appear only where local markets are well developed. By tracing exactly how urban growth reshapes what ends up on the family plate, through incomes, farms, and local markets, this research gives policymakers a far better lens on the true nutrition dividend of Africa's rapid urbanization.
Please join me in congratulating Joshua Kafotokoza, Hannah Ameye, and Matin Qaim — winners of the Best Paper Award.
Gendered Dimensions of Labor Participation and Output Allocation in Nigeria's Aquaculture
Chibuzo Nwagboso, with Opeyemi Olanrewaju, Temilolu Bamiwuye, Oliver Kirui, Olufemi Popoola & Adetunji Fasoranti — IFPRI-Nigeria
This award celebrates the best paper on gender in agriculture. Fish farming is one of Nigeria's fastest growing agricultural sectors, and this study asked whether gender matters in fish farm management. Drawing on nationally representative survey data, the answer is a resounding yes: female-managed aquaculture households mobilise dramatically more female labour, and channel more of what they produce straight back to the family table rather than to the market. This is a critical, often invisible, contribution to household nutrition. Rather than settling for a single gender gap statistic, the authors carefully separated out who works, what is produced, and where the harvest goes, revealing that the real gender story in aquaculture is about food security not productivity.
Please join me in congratulating Chibuzo Nwagboso and co-authors — winners of the Best Gender Paper Award.
Circular Economy Governance in Agri-Food Systems: Evidence from Waste-Based Feed and Fertilizers in Uganda
Florence Lwiza and Allan John Komakech
Our final award goes to the best poster presented at this conference. Across Uganda, farmers and entrepreneurs are turning waste into opportunity, transforming insects and organic residues into animal feed and fertiliser. But this research shows that the biggest obstacle isn't technology, it is policy and regulations. Regulators still treat waste as a sanitation problem rather than a productive resource, coordination between agencies remains weak, and the innovators closest to these solutions have the least say in shaping the rules that govern them. By mapping the policies, institutions, and power dynamics behind Uganda's circular economy, this poster shifts the conversation from whether these innovations can be built to whether the system will let them scale, a governance lens sorely needed across the region.
Please join me in congratulating Florence Lwiza and Allan John Komakech — winners of the Best Poster Award.
5th International Conference of the AAAE
23-26 September 2016
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Honorary Distinguished Fellows – 2016
# | Name | Organization | Country |
1 | Dr. Akinwumi Adesina | African Development Bank | Nigeria |
2 | Prof. Egnonto Koffi-Tessio | University of Lome | Togo |
3 | Prof. Joseph Saa Dittoh | University for Development Studies | Ghana |
4 | Prof. Victor Okoruwa | University of Ibadan | Nigeria |
5 | Prof. Greg Traxler | University of Washington, Evans School of Public Policy & Governance | USA |
6 | Prof. Gerald Shively | Purdue University | USA |
Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, African Development Bank; Prof. Egnonto Koffi-Tessio, University of Lome-Togo; Prof. Joseph Saa Dittoh University for Development Studies, Ghana; Prof. Victor Okoruwa University of Ibadan-Nigeria;
Prof. Greg Traxler, University of Washington, Evans School of Public Policy & Governance-USA and Prof. Gerald Shively, Purdue University-USA received the honorary distinguished fellow awards 2016