Empowering Women in Agriculture

Dr. Yemisi A. Jeff-Agboola is the president and founder of the Voice of Women in the Development of Agriculture (VOWDA) since 2013 and  an Associate Professor, University of Medical Sciences, Ondo City, Nigeria. She is the Chair, International Conference Committee member of  Society for Applied Microbiology, UK. She was a Fulbright African Research visiting Scholar at Poultry Science Department, Auburn University, Alabama, USA. She holds a PhD in Food Microbiology with special interest in Mycotoxicology, Food Safety, Gender Responsive Agricultural Research and Medicinal Plant Research. VOWDA is  a programme designed to fight hunger and poverty in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa through women professionals involved in Agricultural Research and to contribute to the growth of the agricultural sector through research, innovation and technology transfer. Its aim is to work with rural women at the grass-roots level to improve farm yield and food production. VOWDA collaborates with some organizations already on the front lines in fighting global hunger and educate the general public about agriculture’s role in feeding a hungry world. VOWDA Advocate  in the areas of Gender awareness, Agricultural resource distribution and Mentoring and career guidance

Dr. Yemisi Jeff-Agboola was a post doctoral visiting research scholar at the Centre of Excellence in Mycotoxicology and Public Health, Department of Bioanalysis, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Ghent University. She is an Ambassador of the World Food Preservation Center, Washigton Dc, a Mytox-South partner and a peer review college member of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). She is one of the delegates of Research Councils UK (RCUK) through Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) in 2017 and currently a peer review College member of UK, Research and Innovation.  She was a Brigitte and Wolfram Gedek Grant Reciepent (2017) as a scholar in Institute of Veterinary Food Science, Justus Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany. She was a post-doctoral Fellow of the prestigious African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), a CGIAR Gender and Diversity programme sponsored by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation , USAID, Agropolis Foundation, and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) through which she was  selected as an Advance Science Training Laureate to carry out research on mycotoxin control in poultry feed at Animal Science Research Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, USA as a Post-Doctoral Scholar. Her program in the USA was sponsored by Novus International; an American livestock feed company as one of the five (5) Nigerians out of twenty eight (28) outstanding Advanced Science Training Laureates from eleven (11) countries in Africa attached to Centers of Excellence for Advanced Science Training in 2014. This experience enabled her to share her knowledge and research at multiple events, showing that African female scientists are worthy of having a seat at the table in these kinds of scientific discussions. On top of being a leader in her scientific domain, she has also served as mentor for many young female scientists, encouraging students and young women to take on the challenge of studying science. She has contributed to the visibility of some female Agricultural Scientist by serving as a Role model and Mentor to them. Some of them are now fellows of AWARD, TWAS, Borlaug LEAP fellowship etc. Based on her outsanding contributions, she been invited to confereneces as a speaker and to some panel discussion meetings with organisations like Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Farm Journal Forum, where she was on a panel discussion with AG Kawamura, former Secretary of Agriculture of California, USA. She has also won several awards and grants including 2016 Ondo State female role model award, 2015 Top Influencer Award among West African Agricultural Scientist,  2015 Queen’s of Aso Award, one of the eight Mycored fellows and only female fellow out of four in Nigeria selected from across the world in 2009 for fellowship on Strategies for Worldwide Mycotoxin reduction (MYCORED) in food and feed chains  funded by the European Commission coordinated by the Institute for the Science of Food Production (ISPA), Bari, Italy , one of the 2012 YouWin Award Winners by the Federal Government of Nigeria and the only female youwin Award winner from Ondo State in 2012 and the most resent one is the prestigious Fulbright African Research Scholar Program (ARSP) also known as the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program in the USA. She is a member of several distinguised professional bodies including the Society for Applied Microbiology (SfAM), United Kingdom; Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD), Trieste, Italy; Mycotoxicology Society of Nigeria; and she is a Fellow of African Scientific Institute. Dr. Jeff-Agboola has authored and co-authored several publications including peer- reviewed journal publications, conference proceedings and technical papers. She was the pioneer Acting Dean of Students Affairs for more than three years at University of Medical Sciences, Ondo City, Ondo State, Nigeria and currently the Acting Director, Centre for Contining Education, University of Medical Sciences, Ondo, Nigeria. Dr. Yemisi Jeff-Agboola is involved in a number of national and international projects