A global honour for a collective mission

Ismahane Elouafi, Executive Managing Director of CGIAR, has been named one of the 100 Most Influential Africans of 2025 by New Africa magazine, underscoring the growing global recognition of science-led leadership in shaping the continent’s food and climate future.

Each year, New Africa spotlights business leaders, creatives, public officials, technologists, sports figures, and opinion shapers driving Africa’s transformation. Dr. Elouafi is among nine change makers featured on this year’s list, a distinction that reflects her impact at the intersection of agricultural innovation, climate resilience, and food security.

The magazine highlighted Dr. Elouafi’s leadership of CGIAR, the world’s largest public agricultural research partnership, as well as her pioneering work in saline and marginal agriculture, helping farmers adapt to climate stress, degraded soils, and water scarcity. Her advocacy for underutilised and climate-resilient crops has been particularly influential in strengthening nutrition and livelihoods across arid and semi-arid regions of Africa.

“It is an incredible honor to receive this recognition,” Dr. Elouafi said. “It belongs to the scientists working across the CGIAR system, the funders who support us, and the smallholder farmers we work alongside. As we move into 2026, CGIAR, together with our partners, is committed to scaling agricultural innovations and strengthening food systems across Africa.”

The recognition comes at a time when Africa’s agrifood systems face intensifying pressures from climate change, population growth, and soil degradation. Under Dr. Elouafi’s stewardship, CGIAR has sharpened its focus on science-to-scale solutions, ensuring that cutting-edge research translates into measurable impact for farmers and food systems on the ground.

By elevating agricultural science and farmer-centric innovation to the centre of Africa’s development conversation, New Africa’s recognition signals a broader shift: food system leadership is now central to the continent’s future influence and resilience.