Nairobi, Kenya | March 2, 2026 — In the buildup to the 2026 International Women’s Day under the UN theme “Rights. Justice. Action for All Women and Girls,” African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), the CGIAR GENDER Equality and inclusion Accelerator, the International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), and CIFOR-ICRAF convened a high-level event aimed at advancing concrete action to amplify women’s participation and leadership in agrifood systems.

The event brought together researchers, policymakers, investors, development partners, and women farmers across Kenya to explore how we can dismantle systemic barriers that undermine women’s contributions and benefits in agrifood systems while spotlighting women leading innovations, and enablers for improving women’s experiences.

Despite growing evidence, women’s contributions to agrifood systems remain undervalued. Many continue to work under precarious conditions — often informal, irregular, part-time, labor-intensive, and low-paid — while facing barriers like limited access to land, finance, technologies, education, extension services, and participation in decision-making at household, community, and national levels.

“As we mark the International Year of the Woman Farmer, we have an opportunity to renew and accelerate our commitments — to make food systems truly work for women farmers, and for science to deliver solutions that work for the smallholder farmer and her husband.” – Nicoline deHaan, Director, CGIAR Gender Equality and Inclusion Accelerator.

A recent report on the status of women in agrifood systems in sub-Saharan Africa underscores that greater investment in women’s empowerment can unlock inclusive economic growth, food security, and climate resilience for societies.

“Over 90 percent of women in food systems work in informal roles, where their contributions are often undervalued and under-protected. We want to make sure women are engaging as co-creators of the solutions and not just as recipients,” Dr. Susan Kaaria, Director, AWARD.

Against this backdrop, the International Women’s Day event created a deliberate, action-oriented platform centered on women’s lived experiences. Discussions focused on improving working conditions, increasing gender disaggregated data, and centering women’s voice and leadership in shaping equitable and resilient agrifood systems. The speakers emphasized a wholistic systemic strategic approach to inform better evidence and strengthen the credibility of the decisions and solutions that work for women and men across agrifood food systems.

“We must work with women. They must be at the center of the conversation. We shouldn’t wait until we go far into the pipeline and say we don’t have women here. Interventions must start early from a young age to top leadership professionals to effectively address the leaky pipeline,” Prof. Appolinaire Djikeng, Director General, icipe.

Aligned with the International Year of the Woman Farmer, the event spotlighted the lived realities and leadership of women farmers and those working in support of them. Women farmers showcased innovations helping them increase productivity in their farms while sharing the changes needed to transform agrifood systems to work for them including meaningful research and innovation.

“Smallholder farmers are feeding Kenya and they can only benefit from technology only when it’s accessible, simplified, and aligned with their everyday realities,” Mwihaki Njehu, farmer, Kiambu County.

As the global community reflects on progress toward gender equality, the convening partners reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring that women — particularly women farmers — are not only recognized as central actors in agrifood systems, but are fully supported as leaders, innovators, and decision-makers.

Link to event photos

About CGIAR Gender Accelerator

CGIAR Gender Equality and Inclusion is CGIAR’s Accelerator working to put equality and inclusion at the heart of food systems research and development. The Accelerator leads strategic and innovative research that advances gender equality, opportunities for youth, and social inclusion across CGIAR’s Food, Land and Water Systems portfolio. Gender.cgiar.org

About AWARD

African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) envisions transformative change toward gender-responsive solutions that will catalyze lasting impact for equitable agri-food systems for women and men smallholders. We are investing in women’s leadership to foster equality in AR4D, equipping AR4D professionals to integrate gender in their work, strengthening institutions to adopt gender-responsive policies and practices, and impacting the enabling environment to enhance gender responsiveness. Learn more: https://awardfellowships.org.

About icipe

The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) aims to help alleviate poverty, ensure food security and improve the overall health status of peoples of the tropics, by developing and extending management tools and strategies for harmful and useful arthropods, while preserving the natural resource base through research and capacity building.