Eleven Ethiopians are amongst 50 African women selected as Policy Fellows for the second cohort of The Gender Responsive Agriculture Systems Policy (GRASP) Fellowship, an initiative of African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The AWARD Policy Fellowship is cultivating a growing pool of African women to catalyze the design and implementation of gender-responsive agricultural policies across Africa.

A core pillar of Ethiopia’s economy, agriculture accounts for 40 percent of gross domestic product, 80 percent of exports, and an estimated 75 percent of the country’s workforce. However, recurrent droughts and soil degradation, coupled with low technology uptake, hamper productivity. Further, “despite women’s huge contribution to agricultural activities, agricultural policies have disproportionately benefitted male farmers,” explains Kalkidan Yimer, Gender and Inclusion Advisor for Save the Children International in Ethiopia, and AWARD Policy Fellow.

Transformative policy change is needed to address the challenges smallholders face and close gender gaps in agrifood systems – a key focus of the GRASP Fellowship. For its second phase, the GRASP initiative has targeted six new countries: Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Senegal.