Policy LINK’s Champions for Food Security Activity Trains Ethiopian Ag and Food Security Leaders
Participants engage in a roundtable discussion at a recent C4FS leadership skills development training. (Photo: Policy LINK)
February 10, 2023 - Policy LINK’s Ethiopia team, which implements the Champions for Food Security (C4FS) Activity there, has completed a leadership skills development training for 31 senior managers working in Oromia Regional State. The participants, 15 of whom were women, represented non-state actors—including the private sector, local non-governmental organizations, youth associations, and cooperatives—as well as the public sector offices of the President and Regional State, Bureau of Agriculture, and Land Bureau. Also in attendance were representatives from academia and research institutes.
The main objective of the training, conducted from January 31 to February 3, 2023, was to enhance the leadership skills of policy system actors, enabling them to actively contribute and influence policymaking in the agriculture and food security sectors.
C4FS has organized similar efforts in the Amhara and Sidama regions, training a total of 98 people.
Participants pose for a group photo at the end of the four-day training. (Photo: Policy LINK)
The four-day training focused on continental and national agriculture and food security policies, leadership skills, and action planning on proposed systemic and structural changes.
“The training enabled me to critically evaluate myself, identify my gaps as a leader, and plan to apply the knowledge and skills obtained from the training to improve step-by-step,” one of the participants said of the Oromia sessions.
Other participants suggested allocating more time for the training while replicating it to serve more food security and agriculture sector leaders in the region.
C4FS supports the Government of Ethiopia and other policy system actors as they adopt a more inclusive policy development process. The activity aims to facilitate the transition from a government-led and implemented policy development paradigm to one driven by multiple stakeholders.