AGRA Announces CALA Cohort 4 Recruitment

Nairobi, Kenya, 15th May 2024—AGRA has announced applications opening for the fourth cohort of the Centre for African Leaders in Agriculture (CALA)’s Advanced Leadership Programme. This initiative is designed for executives and emerging leaders across Africa’s agriculture sector, including government, private sector, and civil society.

The Advanced Leadership Programme aims to support developing leaders in achieving top national priorities in African agriculture and nutrition security. The application window is open from May 13th to July 2nd, 2024. A total of 80 top applicants from eight focus countries—Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda—will be selected to join this highly competitive and selective programme.

Yifru Bekele, AGRA’s Head of State Capability, emphasized the role of the CALA in providing practical implementation support for African leaders. “In a continent facing multiple challenges, including poverty and agricultural hardships, the importance of leadership cannot be overstated. The agricultural sector, rich with opportunities, requires strong leadership to navigate its complexities,” Bekele stated.

This fourth cohort is an AGRA-led initiative delivered in collaboration with implementing partners, the African Management Institute (AMI), CALA’s lead implementation and learning partner, and the African Network of Professional Facilitators (ANProF). The programme will span 16 months, featuring hands-on and collaborative learning experiences.

Rebecca Harrison, CEO and Co-founder of AMI, shared her insights on the programme’s impact: “It’s inspiring to see CALA’s mission in action as it supports agricultural leaders to transform food systems by enhancing their leadership skills. Through the learning journey and our extensive alumni network, we are addressing the continent’s challenges effectively.”

The programme has seen significant success since its inception, with the first, second, and third cohorts commencing in August of 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively. Out of over 4,000 applications, 200 leaders were selected across the three cohorts. These cohorts have been notably inclusive, with women leaders making up an average of 50% of participants.

Delegates of the programme will benefit from executive and team coaching, virtual learning sessions, and leadership forums with experts from across the continent and globally. They will also gain access to CALA’s exclusive online leadership courses and case studies from game-changing experts who are advancing agricultural transformation in Africa and the global south.

By the programme’s conclusion, participants will complete a keystone project within CALA’s unique Action Learning Project format. They will collaborate on sector transformation projects critical to their respective countries, focusing on youth empowerment and employment creation.

For more information or to apply, visit: https://cala.agra.org/programme/cala-advanced-leadership-programme/