Professor Sulaiman Adesina Yusuf to be Honoured with Excellence in Agric-Education Award

Professor Sulaiman Adesina Yusuf to be Honoured with Excellence in Agric-Education Award

Professor Sulaiman Adesina Yusuf stands as one of Nigeria’s most accomplished minds in agricultural economics, a scholar whose work has transformed the way agricultural development, social protection, and economic policy are understood and implemented across Africa. With a career defined by intellectual depth, leadership, and public impact, he continues to inspire a new generation of economists and development practitioners.

He will be honoured with the Excellence in Agric-Education Award at the 2025 Excellence in Agribusiness Lecture and Award Ceremony, organized by D Chronicle Media. The event is scheduled for Wednesday, November 19, 2025, at Olusegun Aganga Hall, International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, by 3:00 p.m. This year’s theme, “Growing Beyond Oil: Agriculture as a Key to Nigeria’s Economic Diversification,” will be headlined by Professor Olorunfemi Oladapo Ogundele as guest lecturer, with Mr. Omidokun Oyekunle, Chairman of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (Oyo State Chapter), presiding as Chairman. Special guests expected include Barr. Olasunkanmi Olalere, Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Oyo State, and Dr. Seye Oyeleye, Director-General of the DAWN Commission.

Over the past 31 years, Professor Yusuf has earned distinction as a researcher, educator, and policy advocate. His scholarship spans agricultural development, rural livelihoods, microcredit, environmental economics, and trade policy. He has served as consultant to major national and international organizations, including the World Bank, UNDP, USAID, ILO, and the National Planning Commission (NPC) — contributing to the development of Nigeria’s Social Protection Strategy Policy Note.

A prolific academic, he has published over 145 research papers and supervised 16 Ph.D. candidates, in addition to numerous master’s and undergraduate students. From 2018 to 2022, he served as Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Ibadan, where he strengthened the department’s research culture and academic reputation.

Between 2015 and 2018, Professor Yusuf was Social Protection Specialist at the World Bank, where he worked on national programmes including CSDP, YESSO, and NASSP. He currently contributes as a Task Team Member on NG-CARES, Nigeria’s COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus project. His research has received funding and recognition from CODESRIA, ARPAN, and the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), cementing his reputation as one of Africa’s foremost agricultural economists.

In 2024, he was conferred with the Fellowship of the Nigerian Association of Agricultural Economists (fNAAE) — a testament to his exceptional contributions to agricultural scholarship and national development.

Beyond academia, Professor Yusuf is known for his deep faith and community service, having served as Vice Chairman of the University of Ibadan Muslim Community from 2017 to 2025.