The Invisible Backbone: Why Africa’s Women Livestock Leaders Need a Seat at the Table

Earlier last week, the Alliance for Sustainable Livestock (ASL) joined partners at the first Women Transform Rangelands Hackathon held in Kaduna State, an inspiring event designed to empower women  harness innovation in the livestock sector through data, which was led by Omeva Consulting and funded by the Spanish Embassy in Nigeria, with support from AECID Nigeria and ECOWAS ,Farm4Trade, DSN – Data Science Nigeria, Lacuna Fund, and others.

Representing ASL as a partner, Dr. Latifah Abdulkarim (Program Manager at Alliance for Sustainable livestock), delivered a keynote address highlighting the importance of data in the livestock sector. She spoke on how data enables smarter decisions, supports early warning systems, and helps bridge the gaps in shaping evidence based livestock policies especially in Namibia, the focus of this policy action.

It is no longer news that women play vital in livestock systems yet often overlooked. They are also frequently excluded from key decision-making spaces. Initiatives like this hackathon are a step toward correcting that imbalance by putting women at the center of innovation and policy conversations, creating more inclusive and equitable systems.

At Alliance for Sustainable Livestock, we see the real value raw data brings in bridging local realities and becoming a useful tool in informing decision making there by turning complex information into actionable insights that can inform policy, empower farmers, and drive long-term impact particularly for women and smallholder farmers who often face the steepest challenges.
This hackathon was not just about ideas, it was about turning insights into impact and giving every woman a chance to innovate for a better system.

Thank you to all the partners and contributors helping turn data into decisions, and decisions into action.
Together, we’re building better systems one informed step at a time.

#SustainbleLivestock #WomenInAgTech #DataDrivenSolutions #ASL
#GenderInclusion #ClimateSmartInnovation #RangelandsTransformation