Dear friends,

I am delighted to share with you updates from the past few months.

We have had a series of immersive training activities under the One Planet Fellowship, including two rounds of Progress Monitoring Meetings (PMM) to reflect on the mentoring program, a foundational leadership course for the younger scientists known as “learning partners,” and two rounds of a week-long learning and networking activity that convened Laureate Candidates together with their African and European mentees.

These activities have seen us convene more than 300 participants from 24 African and European countries. I am pleased to share that during these activities, we were honored to celebrate our outstanding mentors who have dedicated their resources, time, and invaluable experience to our quest to equip African researchers to be exceptional leaders in climate research on the African continent.

As we continue our renewed commitment to influencing an enabling policy environment for equitable agrifood systems through the Gender Responsive Agriculture Systems (GRASP) Fellowship, we curated conversations focusing on gender equality in institutions and policies in agricultural research for development.

Together with the CGIAR Gender Impact Platform and CIFOR-ICRAF, we co-organized an event to commemorate International Women’s Day 2024. During the event, we spotlighted strategies for promoting equal participation of women in organizational leadership and how to ensure our innovations work for smallholder women farmers in agrifood systems.

We continued this conversation at the 68th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) in New York through our side event on exploring the nexus of gender-responsive policies and equitable agrifood systems. Our CSW68 side event featured contributions from different countries, including Malawi and Uganda, and our Policy Fellows in the GRASP Fellowship, who shared some innovative policy ideas they are exploring to foster equitable agrifood systems.

I was excited to speak at a conference exploring increasing the number of women in research. I shared AWARD’s lessons and experiences at the event, which was co-organized by the Danida Fellowship Centre and the MS Training Centre for Development Cooperation (MS TCDC) in Arusha, Tanzania.

We are excited that our Fellows continue to make commendable progress in their Fellowship journeys and careers. In this issue’s Fellows in Focus, we bring you stories featuring our Fellows from Nigeria and Senegal.

Stay up-to-date with our latest news and opportunities by visiting our website and subscribing to our mailing list. Remember to follow us on our Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and Instagram pages for news updates and online discussions.

Dr. Susan Kaaria,
Director, AWARD

Dear Friends,

2023 was filled with significant milestones, compelling insights, and a revitalized perspective as AWARD entered a new chapter. Not only did we mark 15 years since our founding, but we also launched our new roadmap for sustained success. Driven by lessons and urgency, our Strategy 2023-2027 reinforces our promise to foster agricultural-driven transformation for equitable agrifood systems, emphasizing gender responsiveness as a critical lever. As we go into 2024, I am thrilled to highlight some key moments that immensely impacted our 2023.

AgSpirations volume three, a publication by African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), features a collection of stories from select mentors and mentees of the AWARD-ICWAE Mentoring Program. The program serves women economists in the global south working in the agricultural economics profession by promoting their career development, furthering their status, and increasing gender diversity in the association.

Download the publication here.

Dear Friends,

I am delighted to share our latest updates from the past few months.

Following the selection and launch of the inaugural cohort of our Gender Responsive Agriculture Systems Policy (GRASP) Fellowship, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), we convened the pioneer AWARD Policy Fellows for their first face-to-face activity, which included an immersive training on leadership and management.

We also expanded awareness of the GRASP Fellowship in Francophone Africa. We partnered with the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF) to convene a policy dialogue targeting our stakeholders in Francophone Africa. The policy dialogue, “Toward Gender-Responsive Agricultural and Food Systems Policies in Africa“, highlighted how we can foster policy change for equitable agri-food systems.

Advancing our agenda of building a vibrant and robust intergenerational network of African and European scientists equipped to deliver gender-responsive climate adaptation solutions for African smallholders, we welcomed 60 emerging African and European scientists into the One Planet Fellowship. The inclusion of the young scientists into the Fellowship is set to foster south-south and north-south collaborations while exposing European scientists to the realities of climate change on the African continent.

In our commitment to our vision of robust, resilient, gender-responsive agri-food systems driving Africa’s inclusive prosperity, we recognize the need for transformative leadership equipped to unlock the potential of agricultural research and development. We are happy to announce that registrations are now open for the 2023 AWARD leadership series designed for middle to senior-level male and female managers who want to strengthen their leadership skills.

In May, we bid farewell to Ms Dorothy Mukhebi, the immediate former Deputy Director of Operations, after 15 years with AWARD and more than four decades working with various international and regional organizations in agricultural research development. Many partners and friends of AWARD highlighted Dorothy’s impressive track record and spectacular role in fostering strategic partnerships and advancing AWARD’s mentoring model. We wish Dorothy all the best as she embarks on this new phase of her life.

Finally, the recently released United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s report on the Status of Women in Agri-food Systems presents new evidence which underscores the central role of gender equality and women’s empowerment in achieving sustainable agri-food systems. At the 8th Africa Agribusiness and Science Week (AASW) convened by the Forum for Agriculture Research in Africa (FARA) and partners, we led a consortium of partners to convene a parallel session anchored on this report. The session, “Making African Food Systems Gender-Responsive for Equitable Livelihoods“, featured diverse expert voices who highlighted what the new evidence means for our agri-food systems and some of the commitments that are required to make equitable food systems a reality.

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the latest edition of our newsletter highlighting our recent activities.

I am delighted to present volume 2 of our publication, AgSpirations: Inspiring stories of African agriculture. This volume contains a collection of stories featuring 31 One Planet Laureate Candidates from 12 African countries developing solutions to help African men and women smallholders cope with the changing climate. I hope you enjoy the stories as you discover some of the leading scientists working to transform the continent’s food systems.

What is the potential of gender-responsive agri-food policies to transform Africa’s food systems? Our newest initiative, the Gender Responsive Agriculture Systems Policy (GRASP) Fellowship, fosters policy change for equitable agri-food systems across Africa. We recently hosted a policy dialogue to discuss how the GRASP Fellowship will catalyze the design and implementation of gender-responsive agricultural policies in Africa.

We were excited to join over 2,000 stakeholders in agriculture and food systems from across the world who convened in Kigali, Rwanda, for the 12^th Africa Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) Summit 2022 from September 4-9, 2022. The AGRF was an excellent opportunity for AWARD to engage with leading African agriculture stakeholders and share experiences and learnings from our interventions. We contributed to various discussions,  including unpacking opportunities for directing investments to women-led ag businesses and innovating to transform Africa’s systems.

Although women comprise 40 percent of the agricultural workforce in Africa, the share of professional women agricultural researchers is considerably lower in francophone countries. In this feature, we spotlight four women from Benin and Senegal participating in the One Planet Fellowship and leading in revolutionizing agriculture.

We also are thrilled to spotlight four of our One Planet Laureate Candidates from Malawi and Zambia working on various disciplines, including soil fertility and fisheries, to improve smallholders’ livelihoods in the southern African countries.

Finally, in our monthly top ten reads, we have curated expert articles, opinions, and recommendations on the urgent need to build equitable food systems and the critical role rural women play in this, and also highlighted the potential opportunities of integrating gender in building back better in a post-Covid-19 world.

Stay up-to-date with our latest news and opportunities by visiting our website and subscribing to our mailing list. Remember to follow us on our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram pages for news updates and online discussions.

Dr. Susan Kaaria,
Director, AWARD

AgSpirations volume two, a publication by African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), features a collection of stories from select One Planet Laureate Candidates working to develop solutions to help African smallholders cope with the changing climate and transform the continent’s food systems.

Download the publication.

Le deuxième volume d’AgSpirations, une publication de African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), présente une collection d’histoires les Candidats laureats du programme One Planet, qui travaillent à l’élaboration de solutions pour aider les petits exploitants africains à faire face au changement climatique et à transformer les systèmes alimentaires du continent.

Dear Friends,

I am delighted to share with you this edition of our newsletter, which is a special edition for me. Special because, as you know, I recently started my role as the AWARD Director. I am excited to join AWARD because it offers me an opportunity to advance many of the issues I am deeply passionate about. I have spent the last 20 years working with diverse international agricultural research and development organizations across the world, and I am excited to finally focus my efforts on addressing the challenges facing rural African women and men.

AWARD’s consistent commitment and track record in investing in African scientists and institutions to deliver sustainable, gender-responsive agricultural research and innovation resonate greatly with my personal goals of enhancing women’s contribution to their institutions, homes, communities, and policy processes.

I would like to recognize our partners’ unwavering support over the years, the commitment of AWARD staff, and the outstanding leadership of the AWARD Steering Committee. I also thank our stakeholders for their commitment to AWARD’s mission. I look forward to working with you and our community as we advance inclusive, agriculture-driven prosperity in Africa.

As you will see from this newsletter that highlights AWARD’s activities over the last few months, we remain steadfast in our mission of fostering agricultural innovations that better respond to the needs and priorities of a diversity of women and men across Africa’s agricultural value chains.

I am thankful that I can count on your support as we embark on the new journey together.

Stay up-to-date with our latest news and opportunities by visiting our website and subscribing to our mailing list. Remember to follow us on our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram pages for news updates and online discussions.

Dr. Susan Kaaria,
Director, AWARD

Dear <<First Name>>

Greetings from African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) in Nairobi, Kenya. We hope you and your loved ones are keeping safe and healthy.

The year 2021 was a year of many changes, characterized by continuous learning and relearning. Nonetheless, our agility enabled us to seamlessly adjust to the new norm paused by the COVID-19 pandemic as we deepened our commitment to advancing inclusive agricultural research and development (ARD) on the continent. As we look forward to a promising 2022, we are excited to share some highlights that made 2021 a profoundly fulfilling and rewarding year for AWARD.

Our Fellowships

We launched the third Cohort of the One Planet Fellowship, which continues to attract massive demand from emerging scientists across Africa. The third Cohort consists of 41 researchers bringing the total number of Laureate Candidates in the Fellowship to 130 from 14 African countries. The One Planet Laureate Candidates participate in various learning programs to enhance their ability to conduct research focused on helping Africa’s smallholder farmers adapt to a changing climate.

The AWARD Fellows and One Planet Laureate Candidates continuously broke new frontiers in their fields. Dr. Trust Kasambala, a 2019 One Planet Fellowship Laureate Candidate from Malawi, won USD 100,000 research funding from the European Union to support her research on the fall armyworm bioecology in Malawi. A 2018 AWARD Fellow, Dr. Abla Déla Mondédji from Togo, completed her research placement at the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) and returned home with new skills to foster research excellence at the University of Lomé. Find out how a 2015 AWARD Fellow, Dr. Marguerite Niyibituronsa from Rwanda, continues to embody the full potential of the AWARD Fellowship through her ground-breaking research on soy beans’ potential to improve nutrition in Rwanda.AWARD country chapters

The launch of our 11^th country chapter, the Senegalese Association of Women in Agricultural Research and Development (SenAWARD), expanded our footprint in francophone West Africa. The Kenyan chapter, KeAWARD partnered with various county governments, including Laikipia and Nakuru, to train agricultural extension officers and farmers on various topics. KeAWARD also held mentoring activities in various girls’ schools across Kenya. The Ghanaian chapter, GhaWARD, held mentoring initiatives in different schools, and the Malawian government recognized the Malawi AWARD country chapter, MAWARD, as a champion of inclusive and gender-responsive agricultural value chains in the country. The Nigerian (NiWARD) and Zambian (ZaWARD) country chapters also explored collaborating to advance their intercountry agendas.Our learnings
Our report featuring AWARD Training spotlights how we improved our portfolio of training courses to enhance researchers’ capabilities and empower institutions’ leadership across Africa. How can we envision systems that fast-track women’s careers in science and support their retention? This webinar report articulates how we can sustainably address the systemic causes of the gender gap in science. Our AgSpirations Volume 1 publication featured inspiring stories of African agriculture, outlining some of AWARD’s achievements in strengthening the production and dissemination of more gender-responsive agricultural research and innovation. We co-published the “TAAT Gender Mainstreaming Guide” with the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) to highlight gender mainstreaming for the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) program.

Our partnerships
We partnered with the West Africa Virus Epidemiology project to launch the WAVE Women Career Accelerator (WWCA) leadership program. With support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY) we launched the AWARD Leadership Program for Emerging African Women in Science for women under 35 years of age. We unveiled the CGIAR Gender Researchers’ Leadership and Mentoring Program under our partnership with the CGIAR GENDER Platform. AWARD joined the UN Women’s Generation Equality Forum co-hosted by the Mexican and French governments in Paris from June 30 to July 2, 2021. The forum mobilized multi-sector change-makers and governments to announce trailblazing gender equality investments, programs, and policies.

Shaping narratives on ARD
We launched the Agspirations by AWARD Podcast, a new series that explores how we can accelerate inclusive agricultural-driven development in Africa. The podcast amplifies voices from the field and delves into emerging global and regional trends in inclusive-agricultural research and development.

Our webinar series curated a series of conversations that fostered engagement and illuminated inspiring stories of African Agriculture.

What’s in store?
Finally, 2021 saw AWARD move into an exciting phase, guided by a refreshed strategy. The refreshed strategy reflects lessons learned from the first half of the AWARD strategy 2017-2022 and responds to our monitoring, evaluation, and learning coupled with our initiatives’ demand. Our vision remains a robust, resilient gender-responsive agricultural innovation system working toward agriculture-driven prosperity for Africa. We will continue investing in African scientists and institutions to deliver and influence innovative, sustainable, gender-responsive agricultural research and innovation.

We are enthusiastic about 2022, with the imminent launch of our newest initiative, the Gender-Responsive Agriculture Systems Policy (GRASP) Fellowship. Under the auspices of the US government, the USAID-funded initiative seeks to catalyze policy change by women for women to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in Africa’s food systems. We will be sharing more details about GRASP in due time. 

Thank you for being an integral part of our growth in 2021, and remember you can stay up-to-date with our latest news and opportunities by visiting our website and subscribing to our mailing list. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram for real-time updates and online discussions.

We look forward to our continued partnership and wish you a safe and prosperous 2022!

Ms. Dorothy Mukhebi,
Ag Director and Deputy Director, Operations, AWARD