AWARD Fellow Dr. Florence Lubwama Kiyimba claimed second place in the prestigious, continent-wide Women in Science Competition, announced at the recent Africa Agriculture Science Week (AASW) in Accra, Ghana.

Kiyimba, a Program Leader and Head of the Agricultural Engineering and Appropriate Technology Centre at Uganda’s National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO), competed against more than 300 entrants from 28 countries, including 10 finalists, who presented their research at AASW.

Kiyimba won for her studies in gender-sensitive technologies, receiving a laptop, US$3,000, and books. She entered research from her PhD thesis, Labour-Saving Tools for Women: The Forage Chopper for Smallholder Dairy Farmers in Uganda.

“My young daughter told me as I left home to come to Accra to make her proud, and I called her from here to tell her that I had,” said Kiyimba upon receiving her award.

Finalists also included AWARD Fellow Njeri Njau, a Master’s student at Kenyatta University, who submitted a paper on Macro propagation Technique to Produce Healthy and Cost Effective Banana Seedlings in Eastern and Central Kenya. She was one of the few master’s students among the finalists, competing against mainly post-doctoral researchers.

AWARD Pilot Program Fellow Dr. Jolly Mary Kabirizi of Uganda’s National Livestock Resources Research Institute (NaLIRRI) under NARO, was among the 10 finalists, writing on Climate Change Technologies for Improved Livelihoods of Smallholder Crop Livestock Farmers in Eastern and Central Africa Region.

AWARD Mentor Professor Mary Oyiela Abukutsa Onyango of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology was among the 10-member panel of experts selected to evaluate and judge the competitors.

First Prize: US$5,000, laptop, books, trophy

Dr. Nafiisa Sobratee, Mauritius

Valorisation of poultry litter to compost: an assessment of the pathogen reduction potential

Second Prize: US$3,000, laptop, books

Dr. Florence Beatrice Lubwama Kiyimba, Uganda

Labour-saving tool for women: the forage chopper for smallholder dairy farmers in Uganda

Third Prize: US$2,500, laptop, books

Dr. Ijeoma Chinyere Akaogu, Nigeria

Agronomic performance of extra-early maize hybrids under stress and non-stress environments in Nigeria

Fourth Prize: US$1,500, laptop, books

Dr. Loule Clementine Dabire Binso, Burkina Faso

Sécurité alimentaire en Afrique: une technique innovante efficace de conservation du niébé (Food security in Africa: An innovative technique for cowpea storage

Fifth Prize: US$1,500, laptop, books

Dr. Fredah Karambu Rimberia, Kenya

Improvement of papaya productivity for commercial application