SMIL Celebrates Women Researchers on International Women's Day

International Women’s Day is a day set aside to celebrate the achievements of women all around the world. These can be historical, cultural, political or scientific achievements. The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sorghum and Millet (SMIL) is working toward a more equitable future for everyone, and women are an integral part of that process.

Two of SMIL’s own, Dr. Fanna Maïna and Etu Kassa were featured on a recent AGI SureTrack CoffeeTalk podcast. Fanna was born and raised in Niger, Africa and is a former SMIL scholarship winner who studied at Kansas State University. Fanna is now in her home country working as a research scientist. Etu came to Kansas State University as a PhD student in Agricultural Economics from Ethiopia. Etu is focusing her current research on technology adoption in agriculture.

Nat Bascom, SMIL Assistant Director, said “SMIL is very proud of the almost 100 students we have supported, of which 40% of those researchers who studied for their master’s degrees or PhDs are women.”

With a focus on exploring various aspects of production agriculture (domestic and abroad), the AGI SureTrack Coffee Talk podcast is hosted by Laura Handke. Be sure to tune in and celebrate International Women’s Day with SMIL, Fanna, and Etu!

To find the podcast, follow this link: https://bit.ly/3hGSckW.

You can also watch the interivew below.