The African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) Thursday announced 70 winners of its 2011 fellowships. In a colourful ceremony held at Nairobi’s Jacaranda Hotel, Ms Vicki Wilde, both Director of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Gender and Diversity Programme and AWARD, said the outstanding researchers were picked through a highly competitive process that attracted 785 high calibre applicants from 11 African countries, bringing the total number of women in the programme to 250.
Established in 2008, AWARD is a professional development programme that strengthens the research and leadership skills of African women in agricultural science, empowering them to contribute more effectively to poverty alleviation and food security in sub-Saharan Africa. The programme offers two-year fellowships focused on mentoring partnerships, science skills and leadership development. Women agricultural scientists from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia who have completed a bachelor’s, master’s or a doctoral degree are eligible to apply. Another eligibility criterion is that these women must already be working with the communities to address issues of food security and climate change, among others.
The 2011 fellowships couldn’t have been announced at a better time. More than 12 million people in the Horn of Africa are currently facing starvation occasioned by the worst drought in 60 years and the effects of climate change. There is no gainsaying that ensuring the continent’s food security will require mobilizing the best minds from every discipline, including women agricultural researchers.
A project of the CGIAR’s Gender and Diversity Programme, AWARD is supported by the Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It is a US$15 million, five-year project with plans to expand to a second phase starting 2013. AWARD currently partners with over 75 national agricultural research institutions, raising awareness and support for the career development of African women scientists.
PDF document with the winners of the 2011 AWARD fellowship programme
