On the 10th of March 2023, we were thrilled to organize the International Women’s Dialogue with the focus on “Women, Technology, Innovation and Agriculture.” The forum aimed to explore the role of women in leveraging technology and innovation to ensure food security and enhance food production. With the advent of technology-mediated agriculture—emerging farming methods such as hydroponics, vertical farming, rooftop farming, and drone utilization—significant advancements have been realized. Despite this progress, women, who are responsible for 60-80% of food production, often remain on the sidelines. Barriers like limited knowledge of intellectual property rights, restricted access to technology, finance, land ownership, and seeds compound the gender disparity. Efforts to build capacity among rural women have begun to address these issues, though there remains much to achieve.
The event was a resounding success, largely due to our speakers’ insightful contributions. The keynote was delivered by Professor Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg, an Executive in Residence at Schmidt Futures, who underscored the crucial role of innovation in driving renaissance. Other distinguished speakers included Professor Puleng Lenka-Bula, Vice-Chancellor of UNISA; Ms. Bongiwe Njobe, former Director-General at the Department of Agriculture and Land Reform; Dr. Elizabeth Mkandawire from the Food Systems Research Network for Africa; Simangele Nkosi, CISCO Country Head; Dr. Malan Naude, Senior Lecturer in Business Management at the University of Johannesburg; and Ms. Charmaine Houvet, Cisco Africa Senior Director. The event was expertly guided by our Foundation’s Chairperson, Ms. Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, who displayed exceptional leadership during both the planning and execution phases of the event.
Our sincere gratitude extends to our sponsors—South African Breweries (SAB), CISCO, and WIPO—for their valued partnership. You’re warmly invited to view the highlights from this stimulating dialogue on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/wHe83YdgIlg