Christopher Dowswell Scholarship Fund

We are pleased to report that all Christopher Dowswell scholars are making very good progress. So far, the program has a 100 percent retention rate; no scholar has dropped out of the program.

A recent SAFE Networking Workshop in Addis (March 13-15) saw more than 50 participants representing 24 agricultural universities and colleges from nine countries. The participants strongly agreed on the need to recruit more female extension agents to ensure improved food security. As one of the most effective strategies to increase the presently very small pool of active female field agents, the expansion of programs such as the Christopher Dowswell Scholarship (CDS) program was specifically highlighted. During the discussions, additional efforts were suggested, including the development of distant learning programs where extension staff can pursue a BSc degree without being required to be on campus full-time. The University of Abomey-Calavi in the Republic of Benin introduced such a program three years ago, and, indeed, the proportion of females participating in this program is higher than the proportion of female students in the traditional (full-time on-campus) student body. The CDS program is now seriously considering including Benin and the University of Abomey-Calavi as an additional country and university for new scholarships at the end of this calendar year. The scholarships would specifically support female students enrolled in this new semi-distance learning program.