Rice farmer Mary Seruuaa harvesting rice at a farm in Enyires, Atiwa District, Ghana

African Women in Agricultural Research for Development (AWARD) has announced the Call for applications for a new career development Fellowship targeting women climate change professionals in Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and Senegal.

Accelerating African Women’s Leadership in Climate Action aims to increase both the number of African women leading climate action and the development of climate solutions designed to address the needs of women and men smallholders.

More information on the applicant’s eligibility and application process is available here. The call for applications will close on September 10, 2024.

In our Top Ten Reads this month, we compile 10 resources that emphasize the need to pay attention to the gender gaps in climate action and the gendered impacts of climate change on agrifood systems.

1. Climate mitigation efforts can increase women’s resilience and empowerment in agri-food systems

The CGIAR Gender Impact Platform published an “Evidence Explainer”, which explores how climate mitigation efforts have the potential to increase women’s resilience and empowerment in agrifood systems, but more needs to be done to ensure their efficacy. Some of these critical interventions captured in the publication include the use of gender-responsive delivery models and training for integrating mitigation technology.

2. The unjust climate: Measuring the impacts of climate change on rural poor, women and youth

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)’s recently published report highlights important data and evidence of impacts of climate change from 24 low and middle-income countries across five regions. This report also highlights the gap in bilateral financing and the cost of insufficient documentation of the plight of women in national climate policies and, what tools FAO is employing to address these inequalities.

3. Gender-responsive climate governance and the role of women leaders

This new report by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) explores how the private sector develops effective gender-inclusive climate governance. The report presents how companies in emerging markets take integrated action on climate and gender, and whether the presence of women in the senior leadership of these companies serves as a positive influence to drive gender-responsive climate governance.

4. Gender-differentiated farmers’ perception of climate risk and its impact, access to climate information, and adaptation strategies in Senegal

How can stakeholders ensure their climate adaptation programs among smallholders are more gender-sensitive? This study by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), assesses the implications of limited climate information and knowledge in farm women in Senegal, and lessons that can be learned to build their adaptive capacity.

5. Tackling gender inequality in a climate-changed world

This blogpost by UNICEF explores the link between agrifood and social protection systems in the face of a changing climate and outlines five things that actors need to prioritize. As climate change continues to widen the existing gaps and barriers women face in agrifood systems, the article outlines five ways policymakers, multilateral donors and international organizations can ensure adaptation measures that respond to the needs of women and girls in agrifood systems.

6. Strengthening women’s resilience and participation in climate governance in the agrifood sector through public policies

This policy brief developed by ICARDA explores the importance of prioritizing women’s participation and leadership in climate change governance. It reviews existing policies, specifically, international commitments and national adaptation and development, and proposes entry points for women’s leadership in the policy process in agrifood systems.

7. Feminist climate justice: A framework for action

Launched by the UN Women at COP 28, this paper details how to achieve feminist climate justice, focusing on among other things, the processes countries should follow to foster the leadership of women and girls in driving climate action.

8. How to end hunger in sub-Saharan Africa: fight inequality, gender imbalances and climate change

This article by The Conversation compiles findings from five research projects in Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, Senegal, and Zambia.  The projects tackle food insecurity by addressing gender inequality and environmental degradation. The article also proposes interventions such as reintroducing climate-change-resilient ancient grains that can help communities achieve food security.

9. Overview of linkages between gender and climate change

Despite being launched in 2016, this policy brief by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) offers a timeless call to action on how to plug the gender gap in climate action. A key intervention highlighted is building the adaptive capacity of women by investing in their asset base. These interventions include but are not limited to, land, access to credit, and education.

10. 5 Ways Climate Change Disproportionately Impacts Women | Expert Analysis

In this article, TechnoServe presents a five-point analysis of the gendered impact of climate change and what can be done to address it. This analysis points out issues such as the impact of water scarcity on women’s workload among other findings.

Dr. Siboniso Moyo will chair the AWARD Steering Committee, with Professor Hortense Atta Diallo as vice chair.

At its 24th mid-year meeting, held on June 26th, 2024, the Steering Committee of African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) appointed Dr. Siboniso Moyo as its Chair, effective July 2024.

Dr Moyo, Deputy Director General at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), takes over from Professor Lateef Sanni, who has served as the Chair of the AWARD Steering Committee since October 2019.

Dr. Moyo, an avid champion of AWARD, has served as a mentor in its flagship career development fellowship program and more recently as a member of the steering committee.

Speaking at the meeting, Dr Moyo reiterated her commitment to AWARD’s vision and underscored the need for continued investments in gender-responsive solutions.

I am honored and delighted to help steer AWARD toward a more impactful direction, I look forward to working with AWARD to achieve their bold new vision of fostering equitable agrifood systems that equally benefit men and women smallholders. Said Dr. Moyo

Dr. Moyo will be deputized by Professor Hortense Atta Diallo, Professor of Plant Pathology at Université Nangui Abrogoua (UNA) in Côte d’Ivoire, who has been appointed the Vice Chair of the AWARD Steering Committee. Professor Atta Diallo served as Vice-President of UNA from 2016 to 2023.

A member of the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD), she first served on the scientific advisory panel of the One Planet Fellowship before joining the AWARD Steering Committee in 2021.

She expressed her excitement at the appointment, emphasizing her commitment to serve on the Steering Committee.

I am proud to be associated with the impactful work that AWARD continues to do across the African continent. I look forward to contributing to accelerated impact, especially now that AWARD is implementing a new bold strategy. Said Professor Atta Diallo

African Women in Agricultural Research for Development (AWARD) partnered with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) to deliver a virtual workshop on IFPRI’s new Women’s Empowerment in Agrifood Governance (WEAGov) assessment tool.

WEAGov aims to plug existing gaps in women’s participation in agrifood policymaking processes, by measuring women’s voices and agency and finding entry points for inclusive participation.

The workshop was delivered to AWARD Policy Fellows and the newly onboarded Emerging Policy Practitioners (EPP) in the Gender Responsive Agriculture Systems Policy (GRASP) Fellowship Program, catalyzing conversations on gender transformative change in African agrifood policymaking.

The WEAGov tool will also support AWARD Policy Fellows in identifying challenges and opportunities in gender equality and how to apply the tool when developing their Policy Innovation Projects (PIP).

Read more about the workshop on IFPRI’s blog.

African Women in Agricultural Research for Development (AWARD) hosted the launch of the Virtual Mentoring Orientation Workshop (MOW) that welcomed 42 Emerging Policy Practitioners (EPPs) to the Gender Responsive Agricultural Systems Policy (GRASP) Fellowship.

The EPPs are nominated into the program by AWARD Policy Fellows to whom they are each paired for the mentoring journey. This Cohort of the EPPs comprises participants from seven African countries including Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia.

They will participate in this unique mentoring program under the GRASP Fellowship, which is designed to cascade the Policy Fellow’s learnings while fostering mentoring partnerships.

Speaking during the launch, AWARD Director, Dr. Susan Kaaria highlighted AWARD’s continued commitment to fostering mentoring collaborations between policy practitioners at different levels to influence better, equitable agrifood systems policies.

“Our Fellows will apply all the leadership and mentoring skills that they have acquired as they have been working with their mentors, and they now take on the baton to become the mentors, “she said.

The EPPs comprise interns to mid-level professionals and policy experts working in research and academia focusing on agricultural disciplines, gender, and agri-food systems.

They are drawn from institutions across various sectors including the government, academia, national research organizations, the private sector, and civil society.

The mentoring program commenced with the four-week Mentoring Orientation Workshop (MOW), which will be followed by virtual monthly mentoring sessions between the pairs that will take place between July 2024 and June 2025.

AWARD Policy Fellows from the first cohort shared their insights with the EPPs on what to expect from the mentoring relationship. Aisha Hadeija an AWARD Policy Fellow from Nigeria attributed the mentoring journey to what she sees as her improved professional development in her daily tasks.

“A personal highlight is a training we went through on leadership skills that focused on negotiation which I use at work daily to ask for what I want assertively without sounding abrasive,” she said.

She also highlighted her excitement to work with her mentee in enhancing her Policy Innovation Project (PIP) to develop technical competencies in policy work.

“I am looking forward to working with my mentee on an interactive training manual for policy practitioners to be able to conduct Training of Trainers (ToT) and this will be done using principles and tools we Fellows have acquired through this program.”

Dr. Romana Mbinya, an AWARD Policy Fellow from Kenya, is working on her PIP to review and incorporate gender responsiveness into the Kenya agricultural extension policy. She shared her key takeaway of the mentorship program which she believes helps plug the loneliness associated with professional development.

“Professional journeys can often be lonely, and you need mentors to walk you through your professional journey,” she said.

Watch the launch event.

African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) annonce un nouveau programme pour les femmes du Bénin, du Cameroun, du Ghana, du Kenya, du Malawi et du Sénégal qui travaillent sur des solutions d’adaptation aux changements climatiques.

10 JUILLET 2024 NAIROBI – Un nouveau programme est ouvert aux professionnelles africaines qui travaillent au carrefour du genre, du changement climatique et des systèmes agroalimentaires. Il s’inscrit dans le cadre d’une initiative qui vise à promouvoir l’égalité des sexes dans l’adaptation au changement climatique pour les petites exploitations agricoles africaines.

Promouvoir le leadership des femmes à l’égard de l’action climatique  est un programme de développement de carrière à objectif double : accroître le nombre de femmes africaines à la tête d’actions liées au climat et faciliter le développement de solutions climatiques répondant aux besoins des petites exploitations.

Dans les domaines de la politique environnementale, les femmes restent minoritaires parmi les décideurs de haut niveau, n’occupant que 15 % des 712 postes de ministre de l’Environnement depuis 2020. Et à l’échelle des exploitations, les inégalités de genre en matière d’accès aux ressources, d’opportunités et de pouvoir de décision rendent généralement les femmes à la tête de ces petites structures particulièrement vulnérables aux changements climatiques, bénéficiant de moins d’outils pour s’adapter.

Ce nouveau programme, géré par African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), est ouvert aux professionnelles du changement climatique du Bénin, du Cameroun, du Ghana, du Kenya, du Malawi et du Sénégal, des pays parmi les plus touchés par le changement climatique et les plus dépendants de l’agriculture à petite échelle.

Le changement climatique vient creuser le gouffre entre les hommes et les femmes au sein des systèmes agroalimentaires africains. Les femmes sont de puissantes agentes du changement, mais leur potentiel est sous-exploité. a affirmé Susan Kaaria, directrice d’AWARD. Cette initiative est prometteuse, puisqu’elle devrait créer un vivier de spécialistes africaines du changement climatique qui deviendront des leaders efficaces et des agentes du changement. Elles apprendront notamment à développer des innovations aidant les petites exploitantes à mieux s’adapter aux changements climatiques.

Ce nouveau programme s’inscrit dans le cadre d’Adaptation aux changements climatiques et Résilience (CLARE), un programme-cadre de recherche de 110 millions de livres sterling qui vise à permettre une action durable et socialement inclusive afin de renforcer la résilience aux changements climatiques et aux risques naturels. CLARE est principalement financé par le Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) du Royaume-Uni dans le cadre du Financement international de la lutte contre le changement climatique. Le Centre de recherches pour le développement international (CRDI) du Canada contribue à hauteur de 15 % au financement du pilier recherche. Il est le principal partenaire de mise en œuvre du programme, soutenant les projets et facilitant la collaboration générale.

Le programme vise un total de 300 participantes, dont 100 professionnelles du changement climatique qui bénéficieront d’une formation immersive et d’un mentorat pour améliorer leurs compétences techniques et leurs capacités en matière de leadership, de mise en réseau et de sensibilisation. Chaque participante se verra attribuer un·e mentor·e doté·e d’une vaste expérience dans le domaine de l’action climatique, et désignera un·e jeune scientifique (son mentoré·e) pour maximiser la portée du projet.

L’initiative s’appuiera sur la longue expérience d’AWARD en matière de conception et de mise en œuvre de programmes de développement de carrière et de leadership. Une récente évaluation externe a montré que plus de 95 % des bénéficiaires trouvaient que les programmes et le soutien d’AWARD répondaient à leurs besoins de progression de carrière. 70 % ont déclaré que la formation avait renforcé leurs compétences en leadership. Plus de la moitié a accédé à des postes de direction par la suite.

Manuela Di Mauro et Bruce Currie-Alder, les co-responsables de CLARE pour le FCDO et le CRDI, ont souligné qu’

[e]n investissant dans le nouveau programme d’AWARD, CLARE s’appuie sur les enseignements tirés de plusieurs années de développement d’initiatives facilitant l’adaptation aux changements climatiques. AWARD jouera un rôle crucial en aidant davantage de femmes africaines à devenir des championnes du leadership et de l’innovation dans le domaine du climat.

Les AWARD Climate Fellows seront sélectionnées sur la base d’une évaluation de leur expertise, des éventuelles lacunes dans leurs connaissances et de leurs contributions à l’adaptation aux changements climatiques. De plus amples informations sur le processus de candidature sont disponibles en ligne.

L’appel à candidatures sera ouvert à partir d’aujourd’hui, le 10 juillet, jusqu’au 10 septembre 2024.

FIN

Notes aux éditeurs·trices

Promouvoir le leadership des femmes à l’égard de l’action climatique est une initiative financée par le gouvernement britannique et par le Centre de recherches pour le développement international (CRDI), Ottawa, Canada, dans le cadre du programme de recherche sur l’adaptation aux changements climatiques et la résilience (CLARE). Les opinions exprimées dans ce document ne représentent pas nécessairement celles du gouvernement britannique, du CRDI ou de son Conseil des gouverneurs.

CLARE est un programme-cadre de recherche UK-Canada portant sur l’adaptation et la résilience. Il vise à permettre une action durable et socialement inclusive afin de renforcer la résilience face aux changements climatiques et aux risques naturels. CLARE est une initiative conçue, financée et gérée conjointement par le Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) du Royaume-Uni et le Centre de recherches pour le développement international (CRDI) du Canada.

Pour en savoir plus, consultez le site https://clareprogramme.org/

African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) announces new fellowship for women in Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and Senegal working on climate adaptation solutions.

JULY 10, 2024 NAIROBI – A new fellowship has opened applications for African women professionals who work at the nexus of gender, climate change, and agrifood systems as part of an initiative to support gender equality in climate change adaptation for African smallholder farmers.

Accelerating African Women’s Leadership in Climate Action is a career development fellowship that aims to increase both the number of African women leading climate action and the development of climate solutions designed to address the needs of women and men smallholders.

Women remain a minority among those making high-level decisions in environmental policy fields, holding only 15 per cent of 712 environmental sector minister positions as of 2020. At the same time, gender inequalities in access to resources, opportunities, and decision-making power at the farm level typically leave women smallholders especially vulnerable to climate change with fewer tools at their disposal for adaptation.

The new fellowship, managed by African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), is open to women climate change professionals in Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and Senegal, some of the countries most impacted by climate change yet most dependent on small-scale agriculture.

Yawning gender gaps throughout African agrifood systems are compounded by climate change, and yet women are also powerful, under-utilised agents of change,” said Dr. Susan Kaaria, director of AWARD. We’re excited about the potential for this fellowship to grow a pool of African women climate change professionals, who can become effective leaders and forces for change, developing innovations for women smallholders to better cope with climate change.

The new Fellowship is under the Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CLARE) programme, a £110m framework research programme aiming to enable socially inclusive and sustainable action to build resilience to climate change and natural hazards. CLARE is primarily funded by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) as part International Climate Finance. Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) contributes 15% of funding to the research pillar and serves as the main delivery partner, supporting projects and collaboration across the programme.

The fellowship is targeting 300 participants in total. This includes 100 women climate change professionals who will be supported through immersive training and mentoring to advance their technical capacity, leadership, networking, and outreach skills. Each Fellow will be paired with a mentor with extensive experience in climate action, they will further nominate a junior scientist, a mentee to maximize the reach of the initiative.

The fellowship will leverage AWARD’s long experience in designing and delivering successful career development and leadership programs. A recent external evaluation showed more than 95 per cent of beneficiaries found AWARD’s programs and support met their needs in terms of advancing their career progression goals and 70 per cent stated that the training strengthened their leadership skills. More than half went on to take up leadership positions.

Manuela Di Mauro and Bruce Currie-Alder, CLARE co-leads from FCDO and IDRC, highlighted that:

by investing in AWARD’s new fellowship, CLARE is building on lessons from years of previous programming supporting climate change adaptation. AWARD will play a critical role in ensuring that more African women are championing climate leadership and innovation.

The AWARD Climate Fellows will be selected based on an assessment of their expertise, knowledge gaps and contributions to climate adaptation. More information about the application process is available online.

The call for applications will be open from July 10 until September 10, 2024.

ENDS

Notes to editors

Accelerating African Women’s Leadership in Climate Action is a Fellowship funded by UK aid from the UK government and by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada as part of Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CLARE) research program. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the UK government, IDRC or its Board of Governors.

CLARE is a UK-Canada framework research program on Climate Adaptation and Resilience, aiming to enable socially inclusive and sustainable action to build resilience to climate change and natural hazards. CLARE is an initiative jointly designed, funded and run by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and Canada’s IDRC.

Visit https://clareprogramme.org/ for more information on CLARE.

“It is frustrating when I cannot get along with someone, especially in a team setting at my workplace, but so far this week, I have learned the importance of empathy and appreciating that not every colleague is similar.” ~ Victoria Aniju

Victoria works in molecular genetics research at the University of Benin in Edo State, Nigeria. She is among 43 young career scientists participating as mentees in the second Cohort of the One Planet Fellowship.

Referred to as Learning Partners, the mentees are admitted into the Fellowship through a process that includes nomination by mid-career scientists who were earlier admitted into the One Planet Fellowship as Laureate Candidates and who will serve as their mentors.

This mentoring model is structured to build an intergenerational network of scientists working to develop climate solutions for Africa and lead climate work on the continent.

We convened the 43 scientists in Mombasa, Kenya, for an immersive experience as they participated in a Foundational Leadership Program for Emerging African Scientists.

The young scientists, all under the age of 30, come from 12 Anglophone and Francophone countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, and Zambia. The five-day leadership course is tailored to equip them with increased self- and team leadership competencies and enhanced communication and personal branding skills.

This is the Learning Partners’ second training in the One Planet Fellowship, following their participation in the Training and Networking week held in March in Nairobi.

The Foundational Leadership Course is tailored to address the soft skills gap that restricts young scientists’ transition into leadership roles as they progress through their careers. Soft skills range from cultivating assertiveness in oneself to handling conflict among teams and rallying a team behind their vision.

“We appreciate that you possess advanced academic and technical competencies, but we aim to impact you with the skills to lead research and scientific organizations,” AWARD Deputy Director Dr. Michèle Mbo’o-Tchouawou told the participants during the training’s opening session.”

Another key aspect is that the course prepares young scientists for effective organizational leadership.

“We need them to have the knowledge to deal with team dynamics once they get to supervisory roles,” says Allan Bukusi, an AWARD trainer from Kenya and a Human Resource consultant specializing in leadership development and strengthening organizational management competence.

Warou Koudjom, an Agricultural Economist from the University of Lomé, draws lessons from the course to improve his comprehension of leadership. “I have learned how to present myself confidently and give and receive feedback and, most importantly, how to work on that feedback,” says Koudjom.

The course also equips emerging female scientists with assertiveness to navigate the male-dominated industry. UNESCO data shows that women make up only 35% of STEM graduates, which might contribute to passiveness in the workplace.

In addressing this, “the participants gain skills in negotiating their way upwards in an organizational setting. The goal is not for them to be aggressive but rather to have the confidence to articulate their intentions,” says Siaka Coulibaly, an AWARD trainer from Burkina Faso, and a cross-culture and diversity training specialist.

See highlights from the workshop below.

Addressing gender equality and women’s empowerment means addressing the constraining social norms and rigid gender roles that affect women’s participation in agrifood systems.

As the world looks to recover and reimagine agrifood systems, increasing attention is being placed on addressing social barriers and gender-blind policies in these systems.

Reports indicate that agrifood systems employ 66 percent of women in sub-Saharan Africa, and economic growth from agriculture is 11 times more effective at reducing extreme poverty than any other sector. Yet, Women’s roles tend to be marginalized.

Therefore, sustaining a thriving agrifood system will require intentional effort toward women’s empowerment measures from gender-transformative approaches to gender-responsive policies that address the broader socioeconomic context where inequities occur.

This month, we have curated resources that underscore the urgency of putting women at the center of policy reforms to address the transformation of agrifood systems in Africa.

1. BRIDGING THE GAP: Policy Innovations to Put Women at the Center of Food Systems Transformation in Africa

This report by the Malabo Montpellier Panel discusses gender inequalities. It emphasizes the importance of women’s participation in all aspects of agrifood systems while providing actionable recommendations to enhance their role and impact. The report also highlights successful policy innovations that can be upscaled to drive positive change.

2. Why women are key to Africa’s food systems transformation

This article asserts that enhancing women’s access to resources, education, and decision-making positions is vital for equitable agrifood systems. It underscores women’s indispensable roles in agriculture, from farming to market.

3. How to transform Africa’s food system

This journal proposes five pathways, from reforming land use policies to investing in research, technology, and innovation, to help shape and transform Africa’s food systems. It draws on ideas discussed at the 2023 Adaptation Futures in Montreal, Canada.

4. Building inclusive and empowering agrifood systems for resilience

Agricultural communities face a range of shocks from natural disasters, political conflicts, and health crises. Women are often more vulnerable to such shocks given their unique constraints, like access to information, household decision-making power, and asset control. The essay highlights the need to provide women with equal access to information and technology to boost resilient agrifood systems.

5. It’s Time for Gender-Responsive Agri-food Policies that Address the Needs of Women

Despite global efforts, the world is not on track to achieve gender equality by 2030. This article discusses the underlying causes of gender inequality and women’s empowerment in food systems, closing the current gender resource gaps, and why integrating gender in food systems policies is critical to providing the legal framework for driving action.

6. Women agripreneurs need gender-responsive interventions.

Creating gender-responsive opportunities for women’s entrepreneurship in agribusiness can empower them and advance gender equality and food security. This paper explores the existing gaps and maps out the potential of gender-responsive agribusiness interventions to create meaningful engagement for women agripreneurs.

7. Gender Inequalities and Food Insecurity: Ten years after the food price crisis, why are women farmers still food insecure?

Poorly designed interventions can increase women’s decision-making marginalization and workload. This report outlines existing policy tools to support program design and prioritize food security and women smallholder’s development and resilience.

8. Why gender-responsive policies are critical drivers of equitable agri-food systems

The news article calls for concerted efforts to address gender disparities in agri-food systems, citing gender-responsive policies as crucial tools for closing gender gaps in agriculture and advancing equity.

9. The ‘new normal’ in food systems is anchored on gender equality

The blog takes a fresh perspective into the persistent gender disparities in agriculture’s “new normal” and the opportunities available for policymakers looking to disrupt the status quo to create more resilient food systems for the benefit of all.

10. Why Gender-Responsive Agricultural Adaptation Is Underfunded

This paper highlights the challenges that hinder funding and implementing stakeholders from effectively delivering gender-responsive programs. It also suggests recommendations to enhance the gender responsiveness of funding decisions, suggesting strategies to influence and improve the incorporation of gender considerations in climate-related projects.

Experts working across different sectors of agri-food systems have called for enhanced women’s representation in the agricultural value chain, which would necessitate the design of gender-responsive policies in agrifood systems across the continent.

The thought leaders convened at a side event held at the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) in New York. The side event was co-hosted by the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Uganda, and Malawi to the United Nations.

The event took stock of the progress on gender equality and emphasized the critical role of well-designed policies in shifting the needle toward equitable agrifood systems.

In a recorded message, Ambassador Nosipho Nausca-Jean Jezile, the representative of the Republic of South Africa to Italy, urged organizations working in food systems to collaborate in developing innovative solutions to translate the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) Voluntary Guidelines into tangible actions for equitable agrifood systems in Africa.

“These guidelines encompass a broad spectrum of policy recommendations, ranging from promoting women’s food security and nutrition to ensuring their full participation and leadership in agrifood systems,” Amb. Jezile said.

Sharing their experiences as Fellows in AWARD’s Gender Responsive Agriculture Systems Policy (GRASP) Fellowship, Dr. Romana Mbinya, Dr. Clara Chinwoke Ifeanyi-obi, and Ms. Comfort Yelipoei highlighted the critical need to include women’s voices, needs, and priorities in the design on Policies.

Ms. Yelipoei, a 2022 AWARD Policy Fellow and an Agricultural Officer in Ghana, works to improve women farmers’ access to quality planting materials and seeds. She addressed the importance of women’s empowerment as a tool in fostering equal opportunities for women across agrifood systems.

” From my experience, access to quality seeds is a challenge for women farmers since they lack adequate resources, which is why we should work towards empowering women to be competitive in accessing these limited resources,” she said.

She believes this can be achieved by limiting the barriers women face in accessing credit facilities, extension services, and social protection aspects in the domestic setting that constrict women’s productivity in agrifood systems.

Dr. Ifeanyi-obi, a 2022 AWARD Policy Fellow from Nigeria working to develop a policy framework to track the implementation of gender commitments in climate change policies, spoke of her participatory research findings, which highlight disparities in the development of climate interventions in agrifood systems.

“Many climate interventions do not address the peculiar needs of the key victims of climate risks, who are rural women,” she said.

A recurring theme during the discussions was how individual experiences shaped their desire to address the plight of women in agrifood systems. Dr. Mbinya, a 2022 AWARD Policy Fellow from Kenya, shared her experience on how the exclusion of women in decision-making on agricultural matters plunged the family into disarray upon her grandfather’s death.

“My grandfather was the one deciding what to grow and what to take to the factory. When we lost him, my grandmother was thrown into darkness; she was illiterate, she did not even know where the factory was, and she did not have a bank account. I had to step in to support her,” said Romana.

These experiences have impassioned numerous AWARD Policy Fellows to work toward bridging the gender gap and advocating for the design of inclusive agrifood policies that cater to the needs of women in agriculture.

Attention to care policies help reduce inequalities in food systems

Ms. Jamille Bigio, the Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment at USAID, highlighted how the organization addresses women’s underlying disparities through its programs.

An example of such a program is the Generating Resilience and Opportunities for Women (GROW) commitment in 2023. The organization is investing up to $335 million, primarily through the U.S. government’s Feed the Future Initiative, which targets women’s economic opportunities beyond primary production in agriculture.

“Through GROW, we aim to drive the humanitarian system by prioritizing the unique needs of women and girls to tackle the discriminatory norms and policies that underlie the persistent inequities we see across the sector,” said Ms. Bigio.

Lack of access to productive resources was also a key theme of the discussions. Dr. Jemimah Njuki, the Chief of the Economic Empowerment Section at UN Women, highlighted the need to empower women at the subsidiary level.

“Food systems embed deeply rooted inequalities, and to address that, we need first to design policies that address inequalities at a domestic level, inequalities such as access to resources and tools for production and equal pay for female laborers,” she said.

Dr. Nomathemba Mhlanga, an Agribusiness Officer at FAO, shared her insights on why care policies can be used to address several constraints simultaneously. She articulated that “the policy priorities should be to ensure that these care policies that are being drafted or operationalized are policies that complement each other and solve the social and economic issues women face.”

Governments should commit to implementing gender-sensitive agricultural policy frameworks

Speaking at the event, Hon. Jean Sendeza, Minister of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare of Malawi, highlighted policy interventions embedded in the Malawi 2063 Development Plan that aim to promote Gender Equality in advancing sustainable agriculture and food security in Malawi.

“The agenda ensures women’s equal access to land resources, credit, and agricultural extension services that empower them as key actors in agriculture, enhance household food security, and contribute to poverty reduction and sustainable development,” said Minister Sendeza.

Uganda has also been conducting an intensive review of its agricultural policies. Uganda’s Presidency Minister, Hon. Babalanda Milly Babirye, articulated how the country aligns its policies with the interventions needed to tackle emerging inequalities across countries.

“Our Food and Nutrition Policy of 2003 is currently under review to include several interventions that promote inclusive gender practices,” said Hon. Babalanda.

She also highlighted the critical role of data in policy formulation, stating that “there is a need to strengthen the collection and use of high-quality data, broken down by sex, age, and other social and economic differences.”

You can read the blogs published on the AWARD website to learn more about the AWARD Policy Fellows’ experiences at the conference. Dr. Romana Mbinya, Dr. Clara Chinwoke Ifeanyi-obi, and Ms. Comfort Yelipoei.