The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID have just announced $19 million in joint funding for African Women in Agricultural Research and Development to further support a fellowship program for female scientists. The funding will support the second five-year phase of AWARD's efforts to bolster the research and leadership skills of female agricultural scientists in 11 sub-Saharan African countries. Since 2008, AWARD has received more than 2000 applications for 250 fellowships; the next round, which will be announced in December, has already received more than 1000 applications.
A preliminary look at the first 180 AWARD alumnae show that they are developing more than 137 agricultural technologies and products; that at least 57 percent of them are refocusing their research to be more gender-responsive and/or helpful to women farmers; that half increased their average publication rate in peer-reviewed journals; and that 52 percent were promoted.