African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) is pleased to announce the launch of the Gender in Agrifood Systems Policies (GASP) Program, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at promoting gender-responsive policies to foster equitable and resilient agrifood systems across Africa.
The event held in Nairobi featured a high-level policy dialogue with leading experts discussing strategies to unlock the potential of gender-responsive agricultural policies to accelerate inclusive development across the continent.
The GASP Program will engage 50 mid-career African women policy professionals from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Nigeria, Togo, and Zambia. Over the course of the program, these participants and select institutions from these countries will enhance their capacities to design and implement gender-responsive policies and programs that drive systemic change within agrifood systems.
Women contribute significantly to agriculture employment across Africa, yet they often face barriers such as limited access to land, credit, training, and markets. Addressing these challenges through gender-responsive policies is essential to boosting productivity, enhancing food security, and supporting sustainable economic growth.
“We are honored to launch the GASP Program, which reflects our commitment to empowering women leaders in policy to transform Africa’s agrifood landscape,” said Dr. Susan Kaaria, Director of AWARD. “By placing gender at the center of agrifood systems policy, we aim to create inclusive and equitable systems that benefit communities and economies across the continent.”
Empowering women through targeted policies not only improves their livelihoods but also drives innovation and resilience in agriculture, which is critical to meeting future food demands.
“As Africa’s agriculture continues to grow, it is vital that policies reflect the needs and strengths of all people, especially women who play key roles across the food system,” added Hannah Scheuermann, Advisor on Sustainable Agricultural Policies and Systems at GIZ. “The GASP Program is an important step toward ensuring that agricultural development is inclusive, sustainable, and benefits entire communities.”
Dr. Steven Were Omamo, Development Strategies and Governance Director for Africa at the International Food Policy Reseach Institute (IFPRI) said policies and investments need to expand and deepen modern segments of the food system, and create on-ramps for excluded groups to connect to these segments on fair terms.
“The second priority is that we need to invest in institutions that are capable of delivering inclusion at scale—not just designing policy. Inclusion is not achieved through policy design alone. It requires institutional readiness—the capacity to deliver complex, cross-cutting, and context-sensitive interventions in the real world,” added Dr. Omamo.
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).
