Several African ministers, diplomats and business leaders are in Iowa this week as this year's World Food Prize is awarded to Brazilian and American agriculturalists.

They will take home an important lesson. The tremendous success of agriculture in Brazil came from government leadership, strong rural policy, new research institutions and dedication to training farmers and technicians.

In other words, Brazil defined agriculture as a knowledge-based activity and designed policies and institutions to bring the latest scientific and technical knowledge to the farming community.

In contrast, Africa still views agriculture as a rudimentary and subsistence activity, requiring no more than primary-level education. Africa's research, government, and educational institutions are by and large not suited to the demands of knowledge-based agriculture.

The separation of research, training and day-to-day farming in Africa is even more debilitating.

Research is generally undertaken in government institutes that do not enroll students. Most universities, on the other hand, do little research of relevance to the economy. And agricultural production is largely disconnected from both the government and universities.

The way forward will require not just new seeds, improved soil fertility or better water usage. Political leadership is needed to align agricultural research and training with institutions that are committed to serving communities. Africa can learn much from the U.S. land-grant model through arrangements with Iowa State, Cornell, Texas A&M and other land-grant universities.

And indeed, Africa has already seen initial successes. Kenya's Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology offers inspiring lessons on linking agricultural education to community development. Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika is also creating a new technology-based university.

But higher-education reform is not enough. African governments will need to invest in creating local and regional markets. This will involve providing incentives that promote the creation and growth of small- and medium-sized enterprises.

It also will require investment in roads, ports, railways and telecommunications to more effectively move goods, services and ideas. Militaries could play a key role in building and maintaining basic infrastructure in remote parts of Africa. Investments in engineering education are critical to agricultural improvements, too.

Efforts to bring higher education to the service of community development will need to be accompanied by reforms in the overall functioning of government.

Presidential offices will need to equip themselves with the capacity to manage the use of technical knowledge in the economy in general and agriculture in particular.

There are compelling reasons for African presidents to take charge of such institutional reforms. The work that needs to be done involves a unified vision and extensive coordination across a range of government departments. Previous efforts to reform national universities and research institutions met with bureaucratic resistance or outright political opposition.

To avoid such obstacles, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda has appointed a minister in his office in charge of research, science and technology. Other African presidents should follow this visionary leadership as they prepare for their first summit on research, science and technology, to be held in Addis Ababa in January.

The growing interest in science and innovation among African leaders is commendable. But commitment to bringing practical utility to research and teaching should be the ultimate measure of political leadership.

International development agencies, private foundations and others should step up to support leaders with the political courage needed to revolutionize African agriculture - in hopes that the world's next agricultural phenomenon, the Brazil of the coming decades, will be African countries where such a transformation is so desperately needed.