Grant benefits female farmers in sub-Saharan Africa

GREAT course participants and local farmers discuss gendered aspects of cassava farming during a field visit to Wakiso District, Kampala, Uganda. From left, Margaret Mangheni of Makerere University and Hale Ann Tufan of Cornell University, co-leaders of GREAT, discuss curriculum in Uganda. Achieving greater parity among women and men in sub-Saharan Africa so they more equally share the benefits of agricultural research is the goal of an initiative announced today, March 8, International Women's Day. A $5 million grant to help researchers create more inclusive and effective agricultural systems by addressing the priorities of both women and men in sub-Saharan Africa has been awarded to Cornell University, in partnership with Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gender-responsive Researchers Equipped for Agricultural Transformation (GREAT), will deliver a series of training sessions over five years to cohorts of agricultural researchers from the region in the theory and practice of gender-responsive research in root, tuber and banana breeding; grain and legume breeding; small ruminant breeding; dairy and legume value chains; nutrition and food systems; knowledge exchange (extension); and agricultural mechanization. "Women play critical roles in food production and processing, but their input is frequently overlooked by agricultural researchers," said Hale Ann Tufan, gender specialist and adjunct professor with International Programs in Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, who will lead the project for Cornell.