Inaugural drive to combat climate change unveiled

African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) has announced the selection of 50 female professionals working on climate solutions to join its inaugural Climate Action Fellowship.

This new initiative seeks to increase the number of African women leading climate change action and catalyse the development of climate solutions that are tailored to meet the needs of smallholder female farmers.

The 2025 Cohort of the AWARD Climate Action Fellowship comprises women professionals from Kenya, Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Malawi and Senegal, each working on a range of climate change-related topics.

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They are drawn from various career stages working in diverse institutions including government ministries, the academia, private sector, civil society and regional economic bodies.

This cohort will embark on a two-year journey to strengthen their leadership skills and improve their ability to integrate gender considerations into their climate change interventions.

As they work towards developing and adopting innovations, they also aim to address the diverse needs of both men and women smallholders within Africa’s agrifood systems.

“In my current role, I am supporting women fish farmers by training them to construct climate-resilient fishponds with robust dikes and overflow systems. These techniques help secure sustainable livelihoods despite erratic rainfall patterns caused by climate change,” said one of the beneficiaries from Malawi.

Through this fellowship, AWARD aims to promote equitable rural livelihoods by equipping women climate change professionals with tools and knowledge to develop innovations that the diverse needs of smallholder farmers, taking into account the unique context of African agri-food systems.

Ultimately, the project aims to build a pool of capable, confident and influential African women leaders driving climate action.

Director of AWARD Dr Susan Kaaria explained that the fellowship has provided an opportunity to deepen their work at the intersection of gender, climate change and agrifood systems.

“We know that the face of climate change research, innovation, and policy decisions including climate financing continues to be dominated by men. Women’s roles in climate action including knowledge generation, policies and decisions are also severely undermined,” she said.

“That is why we are excited to launch this Fellowship that will grow a pool of African women climate professionals to become effective leaders and change agents who are developing innovations for smallholders to cope with climate change.” 

The fellowship is part of Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CLARE), a flagship research programme on climate adaptation and resilience, funded mostly (about 90 per cent) by UK Aid through the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and co-funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada.

The Climate Fellows will benefit from AWARD’s fellowship model, which is built on a three-tiered mentoring model designed to develop a pipeline of women professionals equipped to lead.

The model also includes customised training programmes focused on leadership, negotiation skills and gender in climate change.

The Fellows will begin their journey with a ‘Women’s Leadership and Negotiations Skills Course’ training scheduled for February 3-7 in Nairobi.