NEWS
As new knowledge on the role of gender in agricultural productivity emerges, the need to close the gender gap has become increasingly evident. Empowering women as economic, social, and political actors will result in more representative and balanced policy-level decision-making. In emerging regions, women need access to targeted resources such as: education and extension, financial services and technologies that optimize their time for engaging in value-added activities.
These and more are some of the issues that will be discussed during the Women in Agriculture Panel Discussion to be held on Thursday, June 19, at the 2014 International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) World Forum, where are AWARD Director, Dr. Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg, will be a keynote speaker.
The IFAMA Forum begins Monday, June 16, 2014 with a Scientific Research Symposium, where Mavis Owureku-Asare, AWARD Fellow and Scientific Officer at the Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, will present a paper titled “Consumer Knowledge, Perceptions, Consumption Patterns and Quality Assessment of “Sobolo” (Roselle sabdariffa drink) in Southern Ghana”. The presentation is part of the AWARD Fellowship, where Fellows attend a scientific conference of their choice related to their research area. Other participating AWARD Fellows include Dr. Adeola Olajide, Lecturer at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, who will present her paper, “Market Access for Smallholder Cocoa Farmers in Nigeria: What Options?” and Dr. Damaris Achieng Odeny, Biotechnology Scientist at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Kenya, who is also a panelist at the Women in Agriculture Panel Discussion.
Other AWARD participants during the event are Dorothy Mukhebi, AWARD Mentoring Coordinator, Charity Mutegi, AWARD Pilot Program Fellow, and winner of the 2013 Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application as well as Franz Swanepoel, AWARD Mentor and Deputy-Director, African Doctoral Academy.
From South Africa, to the Sahel, where yet another important AWARD engagement takes place. AWARD Communications Manager, Karen Homer, will be representing AWARD at the 11th General Assembly of theWest and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD), which takes place in Niamey, Niger from June 16-20. Also present at the event are Dr. RoseEmma Mamaa Entsua-Mensah, AWARD Steering Committee member representing West Africa, Prof. Sanni Lateef Oladimeji, AWARD Mentor and AWARD Francophone Pilot Program Fellow, Aissata Thera Traore, from Mali. Dr. Entsuah-Mensah will be chairing a special panel discussion on “Enhancing competencies in agricultural research and development to foster innovation and entrepreneurship”, which will be held on Tuesday, June 17.