Women in Ag Award: winners and nominees of 2024

Doreen Jean Nsasiirwe is dedicated to improving health and conserving the environment by offering natural, nutritious, and sustainable health products. She is an experienced agriculture professional and excels in leadership, lobbying, advocacy, mentorship, and networking within the agribusiness sector.

Susan Waithira Kuria is the Co-founder and Managing Director of Essential Drugs Limited, a Kenyan Company that is involved in the manufacturing of animal feed premixes and distribution of animal feed additives in the East and Central Africa Region. She is a seasoned entrepreneur with a great passion for advancing the livestock sector through innovation and modern technology.

Neamat ElTazi, Cofounder and COO of PoultrySync, Egypt, has a background in business intelligence for organizations like the World Bank. Leveraging this expertise, Neamat together with her co-founders developed a technical solution for the poultry industry that enhances flock performance and efficiency, resulting in notable improvements in operations and profitability. Neamat also serves as a board advisor for the AnimalAgTech Summit in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and as an assistant professor at Cairo University, Egypt, bridging the academia and industry gap.

Jana Gäbert, a farmer and scientist in leadership roles, as well as a mother, champions fair milk prices, biodiversity, and gender equality in the male-dominated agricultural sector. She is part of the management of Agrargenossenschaft Trebbin eG in East Germany, a cooperative that manages 4,000 hectares, striving to balance sustainability with food production. Jana Gäbert promotes "unconventional conventional agriculture," bridging science and practice to address climate change while focusing on biodiversity, sustainability, and innovation.

Caroline Jaspart runs a farm in Belgium with her husband. They breed Blanc Bleu Belge, the local beef breed, in a sustainable way. One year ago, she was appointed president of the Union des Agricultrices Wallonnes. She feels fortunate to represent the voice of women farmers in various places and to carry out projects on the status of women and well-being in the workplace. Her quest is to show that the female farmer is an entrepreneur just like any other.

Judith Bakirya is the managing director of Busaino Herbs and Fruits (BusHFruit), Busoga, an AgroEcology farm with social enterprise mission. BusHFruit grows avocados, jackfruit, trees and forest herbs, called the “Food Forest Garden Model”. Judith Bakirya works with small garden owners who are the neighbours, and are both in-growers of nuts, beans, soya and vegetables in the fruit farm and out-growers of avocado and jackfruit. With several awards, Judith Bakirya and the farm host agroecology learning safaris.

Rosinah Mbenya serves as the Country Coordinator for PELUM Kenya, a network that promotes agroecological practices among smallholder farmers and pastoralists. As a professional environmentalist with more than 12 years’ experience, she has accumulated expertise in development projects, particularly in agroecology, climate change, market development, advocacy, capacity building, and networking. Rosinah combines strong theoretical knowledge with practical experience in these fields.

Christine Jodloman is a dedicated agriculture advocate from a family of farmers in the Philippines. With 10 years of experience in development work in agriculture, she has co-created and reached more than 40,000 farmers in the Philippines and in ASEAN region.  As part of her contribution to education, she regularly carries out international engagements and was recently appointed as a member of “the 30 for 2030” by the UN Women Asia and Pacific, and also as an Ambassador of the Next-Gen Agriculture Impact Network (NGIN).

Helen Louton is a leading academic in animal welfare with a particular focus on poultry husbandry and management. As a Professor of Animal Health and Welfare at the University of Rostock, Germany, special features of her work are innovative teaching methods, practice-oriented solutions and interdisciplinary approaches. In her work, she has positively contributed to the training of individuals in agriculture, scientific research and agricultural practice in addition to setting new standards in poultry welfare.

Annika Behler is an agricultural scientist at the Institute of Agricultural and Urban Ecological Projects (IASP), Germany, specializing in drone technology and AI to enhance sustainability and resource efficiency in agriculture. She has led projects on AI-driven soil compaction detection, tested large agricultural drones, and is currently developing an automated nitrogen supply system. All her projects aim to improve efficiency and reduce environmental impact in farming.

Katharina Berse is Project Manager for strategic agricultural research at Evonik Creavis, Germanny. With a background in biotechnology and over 10 years of experience in microbiology and fermentation, she and her team have developed a solution to stabilize Gram-negative bacteria in liquid formulations, promoting more sustainable agriculture. In addition to her work, Katharina Berse also runs a farm with her husband, focusing on both crops and livestock.

Lisbeth Henricksen is the Director of Innovation at SEGES Innovation, an independent research and innovation company in Denmark. A visionary thinker, she is responsible for developing and innovating new knowledge, tools, and products for farmers across all primary production sectors, including dairy, pigs, arable farming, climate and sustainability, economics, and management. Lisbeth Henricksen holds a degree in agronomy from the University of Copenhagen.

LaKisha Odom works at the intersection of sustainability and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in agriculture, focusing on innovative solutions for sustainable food production and economic viability for producers. Often one of the few in key discussions who looks like her, she believes diversity drives innovation. Her passion is creating inclusive spaces where all voices contribute to addressing global challenges like climate change, population growth, and food security. At the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR), she leads DEI efforts and research programs that support regenerative farming, healthier food access, and diverse farmer adoption of sustainable practices.