Celebrating Africa’s harvests: Wiki Loves Africa’s ‘Farm to Plate’ winners reveal the labour, culture and artistry behind the continent’s food.

Wiki Loves Africa has announced the international winners of its 2025 edition, celebrating the vibrant theme “Farm to Plate”. This year’s competition captured Africa’s deep connection to food — from cultivation and harvesting to preparation and presentation. The winning submissions range from an aerial view of a bustling Lagos tomato market to an intimate portrait of an Egyptian farmer riding home at dawn, and a gritty glimpse into rice milling by hand. Multimedia winners include a poetic visual journey of corn’s transformation into a staple meal, a documentary of a traditional dish, a sweeping aerial view of a 10,000-hectare rice farm, and audio storytelling from Côte d’Ivoire. Across images, video, and sound, these stories reveal the dedication, industriousness, craftsmanship, and cultural richness that define Africa’s food journey.

The winners were announced on Saturday, 9 August, during the Closing Ceremony of the Wikimania Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. The announcement was made by Co-Executive Director of Wiki In Africa, Isla Haddow-Flood.

1st prize goes to the image “Aerial view of a busy tomato market in Lagos Nigeria” by User:Ayorinde Ogundele (Nigeria)), Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 4.0. Download link
Wiki Loves Africa’s 2025 theme once again revealed the extraordinary stories that unfold when community, creativity, and purpose come together to document the continent’s collective diversity. This year’s theme, “Farm to Plate,” invited contributors to capture Africa’s food systems — the people, places, and traditions that bring food to life. From fertile farmlands and bustling markets to steaming kitchens, street food stalls, and family tables, the submissions showcased the rhythms, rituals, and resilience behind what we eat. Together, they reveal that African food is more than nourishment — it is a living expression of cultural identity, carrying the heritage of generations from the soil to the plate.

A Record-Breaking Year for Wiki Loves Africa

With an outstanding 30,544 media files uploaded to Wikimedia Commons this year, Wiki Loves Africa 2025 marks one of the competition’s most successful editions yet. The submissions included 30,398 images, 132 videos, and 14 audio recordings, contributed by 876 participants representing 51 Wikimedia communities across 37 African countries. To support contributors and elevate the quality of submissions, the international organising team hosted 12 expert-led trainings and webinars, alongside dozens of local workshops, photo walks, and upload sessions coordinated by community groups across the continent.

Over a Decade of Impact and Growing Reach

Since its launch in 2014, Wiki Loves Africa has grown into one of the largest annual visual competitions on the continent, inviting photographers, filmmakers, and creatives to share Africa’s everyday realities with the world. Over the past decade, the competition has inspired the contribution of 146,698 uploads to Wikimedia Commons under a free licence, collectively viewed more than 1,984,740,973 times on Wikipedia articles. This year’s theme, “Farm to Plate,” sparked extraordinary storytelling, resulting in tens of thousands of new uploads (images, videos, and audio recordings) that document Africa’s food systems and culinary heritage.

Once submissions closed in April 2025, a rigorous five-tier jury process began. A team of volunteer organisers and experienced Wikimedians first shortlisted the entries, before handing them over to the Wiki Loves Africa International Jury — a panel of 15 professional photographers, filmmakers, and Commons experts from across Africa and around the world. The jury assessed submissions on visual impact, encyclopaedic value, and storytelling strength, ultimately selecting this year’s international winners. 

Photography Prize Winners

First Prize (pictured top): “Aerial View of Lagos Tomato Market” by Ayorinde Ogundele (Nigeria)

“This photograph immediately draws you in because it’s so different, you instantly become curious and ask ‘what’s this?’, then it all makes sense and you are left with ‘wow, what wonder!" — Bea de los Arcos, International Photography Jury

The winning photograph offers a mesmerising aerial perspective of one of Lagos’ busiest tomato markets. At first glance, the scene resembles pixels in a digital mosaic — crates and barrels forming vibrant geometric patterns. But look closer, and life emerges: the cardinal red glow of ripened tomatoes, the bursts of colour from traders’ clothing, and the dynamic movement of buyers and sellers navigating the paths between sacks and crates of produce. This striking image perfectly embodies the Farm to Plate theme, revealing both the scale and rhythm of Africa’s food economy. For an in-depth look at Ayorinde’s winning photograph, click here.

Second Prize: “At the very beginning” by Ahmed Mahmoud Abdulazim (Egypt)

2nd Prize goes to the image: ‘At the very beginning.’ by Aabdulazim (Egypt), Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 4.0 Download Link
Bathed in the pale light of early morning, an elderly Egyptian farmer sits astride his first corn harvest of the day, borne by a donkey, making his way along a dirt path. Dressed in a white thobe, his figure is framed by diagonal rays of light and soft, delicate shadow beneath him.  It’s a moment of quiet dignity — an intimate glimpse into the enduring rituals of agricultural life and the unbroken connection between land, labour, and sustenance. For an in-depth look at Abdulazim’s winning photograph, click here.

Third Prize: “Abakaliki rice mill 71” by Obinna Matthew (Nigeria) 

3rd prize goes to the image: “Abakaliki rice mill 71” by Obinna Matthew (Nigeria), Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 4.0 Download Link
This powerful image plunges viewers into the dusty haze of a rural rice mill, where workers manually process grains by hand.  The landscape seems almost barren — a sunbaked desert in a mirage of heat — but here life reveals itself in the quiet choreography of survival. Their labour — grinding, winnowing, sifting — reflects the hands-on realities of traditional African food production. Rice is milled by hand in a process as ancient as it is essential. The image honours the unseen steps that transform harvests into sustenance, capturing both the effort and dignity woven into Africa’s food systems. It is a raw, textured tribute to craft and community. For an in-depth look at Obinna’s winning photograph, click here.

Video Prize Winners

There are three distinct prizes in the Video category for best Narrative video, best Reportage video and best Clip video.

Narrative Video Prize: “Corn to Corn Flour Meal” by Saalyha Eeman

In the Narrative Video category, the jury looked for videos that told a story, had a clear beginning, middle and end communicated as a sequence of edited scenes that were scripted to display classic storytelling elements such as characters, conflict and a resolution. 

Narrative Video Prize goes to “Corn to Corn Flour Meal” by Saalyha Eeman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Watch here
In “Corn to Corn Flour Meal”, two-time winner* Saalyha Eeman transforms a simple staple into an evocative story of generational sensory memory. Through lyrical narration and tender visuals, the short film follows the life of corn — from planting and harvesting to roasting at the farm and finally grinding it into meal. It’s a meditation on family, tradition, and the unseen work behind every plate of food. For an in-depth look at Saalyha’s winning video, click here.

"Saalyha also won last year with her poetic film “Ahmadu Bello University Zaria Students works for Africa create”.

Reportage Video Prize: “Le voyage de l'atoukpou” by N'ZIMA Ahiba Akesseh Juste Fabrice

Reportage Video Winner: ‘Le voyage de l'atoukpou’ by N'ZIMA Ahiba Akesseh Juste Fabrice, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Watch here
Reportage videos present the topic in a way that informs, educates or adds knowledge for the viewer. It is not a story, but a presentation of elements or facts. Each video could use a variety of techniques to make the information clear, including but not limited to interviews, "fly on the wall" reporting, observing of events as they unfold, or inserting data and infographics to emphasise relevant points. 

In the reportage video Le voyage de l’atoukpou by N'ZIMA Ahiba Akesseh Juste Fabrice, viewers are invited into the rhythms, rituals, and flavours of Côte d’Ivoire. The short film traces the journey of atoukpou — a beloved traditional dish — from harvest to preparation to the shared joy of eating. Through tender, attentive storytelling, the video captures both the craft of food-making and the communal heritage and identity woven into it. For a more in-depth look at Juste Fabrice’s winning video, click here.

Clip Video Prize: “An aerial view of a 10,000 hectares of rice farm” by Sulaiman Yahuza

Video clips are short (maximum of 1 minute) uncut or simple shots that visually show a process or how something is done. Often they are part of footage from a longer video. A clip could be raw footage, a time-lapse, or a single take. For use of clips on Wikipedia, a clip should show the subject of the article in motion. They can include ambient sound of what is being illustrated, where the sound effect illustrates part of the process or what is being explained or illustrated. A clip can also be without sound, music or audio effects.

The Clip Video Prize goes to ‘An aerial view of a 10,000 hectares of rice farm.’ by Sulaiman Yahuza, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Watch here
In just one breathtaking minute, the winning clip video sweeps viewers across a 10,000-hectare rice farm, offering a bird’s-eye perspective on the early stages of food production. Set to a carefully chosen, dramatic soundtrack, the aerial footage transforms fields and waterways into a visual symphony — a celebration of nature’s abundance and the human hands that transform the land into systems that can feed nations. For an in-depth look at Sulaiman’s winning clip video, click here. 

Audio Winner: “Fabrication de l'attiéké” by Boris Ahonon

Soundscapes, audio stories or audio recordings can be an evocative way to tell a story without images. The power of audio is that the visuals are created by the imagination of the listener. 

In Fabrication de l’attiéké, sound becomes storytelling. The audio piece guides listeners through the step-by-step process of creating attiéké, a traditional Ivorian dish made from cassava. From the rustle of peeled roots to the pounding rhythms of preparation — underscored by the beat of African drums — the work transforms everyday labour into an evocative soundscape, capturing the heart and heritage of Ivorian cuisine.

The Audio Prize goes to ‘Fabrication de l'attiéké’ by Boris Ahonon, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 4.0. Listen here
The prize-winning entry was created by Boris Ahonon, a graphic designer turned audiovisual storyteller. Boris began his career as an event photographer with Génération Innovante before joining the E-voir agency as a professional videographer and photographer. Today, he leads production at the Institut Africain des Médias (IAM), where he continues to explore new ways of telling African stories through visual and sonic experiences.

Celebrating African Stories, Shaping Global Narratives

For 11 years, Wiki Loves Africa has invited photographers, filmmakers, and storytellers from across the continent to share their perspectives with the world. The response from Africa’s Wikimedian community to this year’s Farm to Plate theme has revealed the complexities of our relationships with food, the industry and ingenuity behind Africa’s food systems — moments that connect tradition with innovation, and the everyday with the extraordinary. Their deep and thoughtful work asks us to pause for a moment in the bright aisles of the supermarket and consider, with gratitude, the evolutionary journey — through history, productivity and distance — of our food.

“At its core, Wiki Loves Africa champions the power of African-led storytelling. It ensures that our cultures, histories, and identities are represented authentically, by those who live and breathe them. Together, these contributions add depth to how the world sees Africa. 

Thank you to everyone who participated this year; the organisers, volunteer trainers, participants, translators, ambassadors, jurors and everyone who contributed in one way or the other. Let's do this again in 2026.” — Hilary Ogali, Wiki Loves Africa Community Facilitator

Through images, videos, and sound, Wiki Loves Africa continues to ensure that Africa’s realities are documented by Africans themselves — preserving its diversity, creativity, and heritage for future generations while reshaping how the world sees the continent.

Congratulations to all the winners.