NAIROBI, Kenya, June 23 – The African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) has launched a brand new initiative aimed toward strengthening gender-responsive policymaking throughout the continent’s agrifood techniques.
Dubbed the Gender in Agrifood Systems Policies (GASP) Program, the initiative seeks to construct the capability of fifty mid-career ladies coverage professionals from eight African international locations—Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Nigeria, Togo, and Zambia—to design and implement extra inclusive agricultural insurance policies.
The program’s inaugural cohort was formally launched on Monday at an occasion held on the Holiday Inn Nairobi, that includes a coverage dialogue with consultants on the function of gender in agricultural growth.
According to AWARD, gender disparities stay a significant constraint in Africa’s agricultural productiveness. Despite ladies’s substantial contribution to agricultural labor, many face restricted entry to land, capital, coaching, and markets.
“Addressing these imbalances via coverage reform is essential to unlocking productiveness and bettering meals safety,” stated Dr. Susan Kaaria, AWARD Director, through the occasion.
Funded by GIZ on behalf of Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the GASP Program is supported below two initiatives: Sustainable Agricultural Systems and Policies (AgSys) and Women Empowerment for Resilient Rural Areas (WE4R).
Stakeholders say this system comes at a time when international locations are below stress to enhance the sustainability and resilience of meals techniques within the face of local weather change and inhabitants progress.
“The integration of gender into agricultural coverage isn’t only a social problem—it’s a structural one with implications for financial efficiency and rural livelihoods,” stated Hannah Scheuermann, Advisor on Sustainable Agricultural Policies at GIZ.
Participating establishments and people are anticipated to use their coaching in shaping reforms inside their nationwide coverage frameworks, contributing to broader efforts to make African meals techniques extra inclusive and resilient.
