Recent evidence indicates that achieving equitable agrifood systems calls for an urgent need to make gender equality and women’s empowerment a mandatory part of food security and nutrition policies and country action plans. That is why African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) together with its partners are intensifying efforts towards integration of gender in agricultural programs and policies.

Through its Gender in Agrifood Systems Policies (GASP) Program, AWARD has partnered with the Ministry of Agriculture in Kenya to train its practitioners on gender analysis of agrifood systems policies.

Speaking at the launch of training on Monday, September 22, 2025, in Nairobi, Dr. Leonard Kubok Deputy Director, Crop Resources Management Directorate at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development emphasised the timeliness of the intervention, noting that the of Agriculture was committed to build agrifood systems that truly embed and not just mention gender.

Gender equality in Agrifood systems isn’t just a matter of justice but also of production and national prosperity.

Dr.Leonard Kubok, Deputy Director, Crop Resources Management Directorate, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Kenya.

Also speaking at the launch of the training, Ms. Eva Prediger, Project Manager, Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH highlighted that gender integration is at the core of transformative change that the agrifood systems need. Ms. Prediger emphasized that every stakeholder in Agrifood systems ought to be included in the discussion table without neglecting women and youths.

The training participants include 28 technical experts – 17 women and 11 men, engaged in policy, gender justice, advocacy, and development from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and Amka Africa.

Achieving gender equality is a continuous process. To reach the desired goal of equality there is need for transformative programs to change the root causes of the inequalities,

said a GASP Training Participant.

Dr. Susan Kaaria, Director, AWARD in her opening remarks noted that thereafter added that, one of the major objectives of the GASP Program is to strengthen institutions to develop and adopt gender responsive policies.

The training will equip participants with a deeper understanding of gender concepts, practically guide them on how to use gender analytical tools and frameworks, develop actionable implementation plans based on the analysis, and enable them with the ability to articulate and present the recommendations to the target audiences.

This is one of the series of training courses delivered to technical experts across various government departments and select non-government organisations under the GASP Program across eight countries including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Nigeria, Mali, Madagascar, Togo, 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).