Across Africa, there is a growing awareness of the need for inclusive and gender­ responsive policies in agriculture. However, according to the 2023 Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS) Annual Trends and Outlook Report, many institutions, particularly Ministries of Agriculture and key public sector actors, still lack the internal capacity, tools. and systems needed to translate this recognition into meaningful reform. The report also highlights that, women remain underrepresented in decision-making spaces, and gender considerations are often missing from national agricultural investment plans. This results in persistent inequalities in access to resources, productivity, and leadership opportunities, especially for women smallholder farmers and early-career professionals. 

To address this gap, AWARD recently launched the Gender in Agrifood Systems Policies (GASP) program, building on lessons from the Gender Responsive Agriculture Systems Policy (GRASP) Initiative, which focused on empowering individual women policy professionals across the continent. Recognizing that sustainable change requires not only capable individuals but also supportive institutional environments, GASP takes a step further by pairing individual leadership development with institutional capacity strengthening. 

GASP targets national research institutions to participate in a series of training workshops on gender in agrifood systems policies and programs. The first of these workshops took place in Antananarivo, Madagascar from July 14th to 16th 2025. In attendance were representatives from Ministère de l’Environnement et du Développement Durable (MEDD) and Ministerio del Ambiente y Energia (MINAE)) in Madagascar including Directors, Gender and Environment Focal Points, Research Officers, Technical Collaborators, Monitoring and Evaluation Officers, Heads of different Departments, Technical Advisers, Managers, and gender experts from GIZ. 

The training focused on how to conduct gender analyses and action planning. Participants received targeted technical support to analyze current gender gaps, assess program – level opportunities, and co-develop gender action plans tailored to their specific context. Participants expressed their enthusiasm for the workshop and highlighted how they were obtaining important lessons. 

A similar training workshop will take place in Cameroon, Nigeria, Zambia and Kenya.

The GASP Program is an initiative of AWARD funded by GIZ on behalf of BMZ under two programs including Sustainable Agricultural Systems and Policies (AgSys) and Women Empowerment for Resilient Rural Areas (WE4R).