In 2017, African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) embarked on an ambitious journey by launching its five-year strategy (2017-2022), anchored on three pillars focusing on individuals, institutions, and an enabling environment. The last five years have been remarkable, as together with our partners, we have worked to accelerate agricultural gains in Africa and accumulated lessons to grow our work.

Amid spiralling global inequality and profound upheavals in our food systems crippling efforts towards equitable agriculture-driven development, we recognize the need to scale our work toward gender-responsive agricultural research for development (AR4D).

At the 2023 AGRF event, AWARD pre-launched its new Strategic Plan for 2023-2027. This plan strongly reaffirms our dedication to fostering a fair and prosperous Africa through agriculture. The new strategy 2023-2027 demonstrates our unwavering focus on amplifying our initiatives to propel agricultural-led advancement for just livelihoods. This approach places significant importance on acknowledging the central significance of gender responsiveness.

Speakers

• Dr. Susan Kaaria, Director, African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD)
• Ms. Ann Vaughan, Senior Advisor for Climate Change, Bureau for Resilience and Food Security, United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
• Dr. Martin Fregene, Director of Agriculture, African Development Bank (AfDB)
• Dr. Edidah Ampaire, Senior Program Specialist, International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
• H.E. Ambassador Gabriel Ferrero, Ambassador at Large Global Food Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Spain & Chairperson Committee on World Food Security (CFS)
• Ms. Amsale Mengistu, Senior Programme Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)
• Prof. Sanni Oladimeji Lateef, Project Manager, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)

View photos from the event.