Dear Friends,

Welcome to the latest edition of our newsletter highlighting our recent activities.

I am delighted to present volume 2 of our publication, AgSpirations: Inspiring stories of African agriculture. This volume contains a collection of stories featuring 31 One Planet Laureate Candidates from 12 African countries developing solutions to help African men and women smallholders cope with the changing climate. I hope you enjoy the stories as you discover some of the leading scientists working to transform the continent’s food systems.

What is the potential of gender-responsive agri-food policies to transform Africa’s food systems? Our newest initiative, the Gender Responsive Agriculture Systems Policy (GRASP) Fellowship, fosters policy change for equitable agri-food systems across Africa. We recently hosted a policy dialogue to discuss how the GRASP Fellowship will catalyze the design and implementation of gender-responsive agricultural policies in Africa.

We were excited to join over 2,000 stakeholders in agriculture and food systems from across the world who convened in Kigali, Rwanda, for the 12^th Africa Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) Summit 2022 from September 4-9, 2022. The AGRF was an excellent opportunity for AWARD to engage with leading African agriculture stakeholders and share experiences and learnings from our interventions. We contributed to various discussions,  including unpacking opportunities for directing investments to women-led ag businesses and innovating to transform Africa’s systems.

Although women comprise 40 percent of the agricultural workforce in Africa, the share of professional women agricultural researchers is considerably lower in francophone countries. In this feature, we spotlight four women from Benin and Senegal participating in the One Planet Fellowship and leading in revolutionizing agriculture.

We also are thrilled to spotlight four of our One Planet Laureate Candidates from Malawi and Zambia working on various disciplines, including soil fertility and fisheries, to improve smallholders’ livelihoods in the southern African countries.

Finally, in our monthly top ten reads, we have curated expert articles, opinions, and recommendations on the urgent need to build equitable food systems and the critical role rural women play in this, and also highlighted the potential opportunities of integrating gender in building back better in a post-Covid-19 world.

Stay up-to-date with our latest news and opportunities by visiting our website and subscribing to our mailing list. Remember to follow us on our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram pages for news updates and online discussions.

Dr. Susan Kaaria,
Director, AWARD