As we celebrate our first two successful years, we are encouraged by the progress that AWARD’s 120 fellows have made toward their professional goals. These women scientists represent 16 disciplines in agricultural research, but they share one passion: to help the poor and change the face of agriculture in Africa.

We have learned much since our pilot project that was conceived in an airport lounge. In 2004, I was waiting for a delayed flight at Heathrow with Peter Matlon, the former regional director of the Rockefeller Foundation. As he told me about a new food security initiative, I urged him to focus on and invest in African women agricultural researchers because the results would ultimately depend on them.

Peter and I discussed how the majority of those who produce, process, and market Africa’s food are women. However, agricultural research and higher education are disproportionately led by men: only one in four agricultural researchers is female. Female scientists, professors, and senior managers offer different insights and perspectives to help research institutions address more fully the unique and pressing challenges of farmers in Africa. Their expertise is needed if we are to effectively address poverty and food insecurity.

By the time our flight was called six hours later, Peter had invited me to submit a program proposal on behalf of the CGIAR Gender & Diversity (G&D) Program. He urged that any proposed program should go beyond just funding the gender programs of CGIAR centers. He argued that the lessons learned from these high-impact programs should be applied to national organizations so women scientists in those institutions could benefit.

In 2005, the Rockefeller Foundation provided funding for a three-year pilot program designed to develop the science capacity and leadership skills of 22 African women agricultural scientists in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. At the end of the pilot project, approximately 80 percent of the women had published scientific papers, with an equivalent number successfully submitting proposals for research funding. Most impressively, one third of the scientists reported that they had started their own development initiatives in their rural home areas or in urban slums, mainly benefiting women and girls.

The pilot project’s success revealed the pressing need for a longer-term project to develop and promote the careers of African women agricultural scientists. Based on our pilot, in 2007 the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) asked G&D to submit a proposal to scale it up. AWARD was born. 

From the beginning, we recognized that the project’s success depended on close collaboration with partners in the initial nine countries in which we planned to serve. In July 2008, AWARD was launched with a kick-off workshop in Accra, Ghana, including 50 stakeholders representing African leadership in agricultural R&D, universities, advanced science laboratories, CGIAR centers, an animal nutrition company, as well as members of our new Steering Committee and program officers from our donor agencies, BMGF, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). We are grateful for their enthusiastic support and critical input; many of these leaders joined AWARD as volunteer mentors for our 2008 fellows.

When we announced the first call for applications for 60 AWARD Fellowships in 2008, 713 women responded, and another 496 responded in 2009, once again demonstrating the need for AWARD.

AWARD is different by design. Firstly, AWARD does not offer a one-size-fits-all solution. We have developed fellowship packages tailored to the specific needs of women at different stages of their careers: those with bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. AWARD helps nourish the talent pipeline in agricultural R&D at all three levels.

Secondly, AWARD does not apply an age limit. At least a third of the AWARD Fellows are 40 or older. With an average age of about 38 years, the majority of these high-potential women would be disqualified from most other programs. AWARD provides a tremendous opportunity for them to use their knowledge and years of life experience to make a difference.  

Finally, AWARD is unique because we believe that meeting the challenges of smallholder farming requires innovation in many areas. Therefore, AWARD selects scientists from 16 agricultural science disciplines. All of our fellows  work on pro-poor research—from promoting indigenous vegetables to plant breeding to postharvest processing. They serve in national research institutions, other agricultural development organizations, non-governmental organizations, or in the private sector. 

The impact of AWARD’s unique capacity-building model, directly involving African institutions and networks, men and women, in all its activities, is already in evidence. For each winning fellow, dozens more Africans are strengthened to varying degrees, including mentors, junior researchers, R&D leaders, trainers, women’s groups, and school children. News of promotions, publications, technical innovations, newly found inspiration and insight, and increased self‐confidence reaches our desks almost daily.

We are proud that our AWARD Fellows attracted national and international attention over the past two years. We were especially honored by the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack in August 2009.

I trust you’ll be inspired by the stories of the AWARD Fellows in this report. We are grateful to our donors and our many partner institutions. Their generosity and support is changing the lives of women scientists and the poor they serve across Africa. They recognize that only with the full involvement and leadership of women in agriculture will Africa succeed in its quest for food security and prosperity. There is no time to lose.

Vicki Wilde, Director
CGIAR Gender & Diversity Program and AWARD

Download the full 2008/9 Results Report