Overview

AWARD is enhancing institutional capacity to conduct gender-responsive research and supporting institutions to embrace and adopt gender-responsive policies and practices. AWARD is investing in building a critical mass of AWARD alumni to influence institutional policies and practices. We are investing in a training hub for leadership, mentoring, science skills, and gender in agri-food systems.

Interventions

Gender in Agri-food Systems Policy (GASP)

Period: November 25, 2024 - 28th February 2026
Budget: USD 706,313.99
Institutions : 

AWARD’s Gender in Agri-food Systems Policies (GASP) program seeks to address the glaring gender disparities across African agrifood systems which profoundly undermine women’s ability to contribute and benefit from agricultural innovations, ultimately stifling equitable sustainable development.

The GASP Program is designed to enhance the capacity of individual policy practitioners and catalyze institutional transformation for gender-responsive policies and programs driving equitable agrifood systems.

GASP is 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).

Key activities delivered under GASP

Zambia GASP in-country training workshop 2025
 
This was the third in-country training workshop under the Gender in Agrifood Systems Policies (GASP) Program.
The workshop had strong representation from the Ministry of Agriculture, ActionAid International, and World Vision, alongside partners including GIZ.
Cameroon GASP in-country training workshop 2025
 
The 5-day training workshop aimed to strengthen institutional capacity in gender-responsive policy development and implementation within the agrifood systems space.
The workshop brought together participants from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mali, and Togo. There was a high representation from five Ministries, with MINADER, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, as the hosting Institution in Cameroon
 
Nigeria GASP in-country training workshop 2025
 
This was the second in-country training workshop under the Gender in Agrifood Systems Policies (GASP) Program. The 5-day training workshop aimed to strengthen institutional capacity in gender-responsive policy development and implementation within the agrifood systems space.
 
 
 
Madagascar GASP in-country training workshop 2025
 
The 5-day training workshop aimed to strengthen institutional capacity in gender-responsive policy development and implementation within the agrifood systems space.
The participants were from MINAE, Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD) and GIZ. 3 GIZ representatives from WE4R and AgSys Programs attended the workshop.
Gender Responsive Agricultural Research and Development (GRARD)

Period: July 2017 – January 2023
Budget: USD 5.5M
Institutions (8): Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), Pwani University, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST), and Mekelle University.

Gender Responsive Agricultural Research and Development (GRARD) is AWARD's initiative that sought to support institutions to design research agendas that drive sustainable and inclusive growth, by enhancing gender responsiveness within their research priorities and institutional mechanisms. Our engagement with AR4D institutions focuses on institutions with a demonstrated organizational commitment to make changes for gender equality.

The initiative was implemented with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Bureau of Food Security and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). 

Key activities delivered under GRARD

CONSULTATIVE DIALOGUES
 
Multi-stakeholder consultation workshops in the selected GRARD countries
Over 15 national and regional-level knowledge events
ANALYSES AND REVIEWS
 
Baseline study led by the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW)
Institutional Needs Assessment for Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB)
Gender policy review for FUNAAB
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
 
Development and pilot testing of a new course on Practical Gender Responsive Agricultural Research for Development in collaboration with the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT).
Five customized courses in Leadership, Mentoring, Science writing and Gender
More than 22 training workshops delivered in the 8 GRARD institutions
Customized training for 6 institutions under Ethiopia’s Agricultural Growth Program II–Capacity Development Support Facility (AGP2-CDSF)
INSTITUTIONAL MENTORING PROGRAMS
 
Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta(FUNAAB)
CSIR Ghana
CUSTOMIZED INSTITUTIONAL FELLOWSHIPS
 
For 60 staff of the Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research (EIAR)
Advanced science training for xx female staff
A research grant program for 20 women agricultural scientists at the EIAR
AWARD Country Chapters

AWARD supports the establishment and continued functioning of AWARD Country Chapters across the continent, which include AWARD alumni and other scientists and development practitioners who have benefitted from AWARD’s interventions and are interested in driving the agenda for gender equality, social inclusion for sustainable agricultural research and development in Africa. Country Chapters are registered as legal entities and include a network of more than 650 members in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Zambia and Uganda. They are comprised of AWARD Fellows, Mentors, Fellows’ Mentees, and other scientists.

AWARD Training

AWARD designs and delivers various customized learning programs categorized under five main themes: mentoring, leadership, science skills, gender in agricultural research and training of trainers.

AWARD Training targets AR4D professionals at different career stages, including emerging, mid-career, and senior leaders and researchers, to deliver impactful learning experiences and equip them with the skills and capacity to design research agendas that can drive sustainable and equitable growth.

Success Stories

Pan-African Fellowship

https://awardfellowships.org/news/distinguished-food-systems-leader-addresses-the-first-inspiration-session-for-kenyan-fellows/
281

Flagship Fellowship

https://awardfellowships.org/news/kenyan-scientific-researcher-promotes-orange-fleshed-sweet-potato-to-mitigate-hunger/
280