Colorful Revolution Webinar Series. This webinar series built on a recent global study examining fruit and vegetable (F&V) research and development investments across nine countries.
Women face systemic constraints in accessing markets, from limited mobility and time burdens to exclusion from formal systems. Investing in gender-responsive infrastructure, improved market information systems, and supportive policy environments can unlock women’s full economic potential in horticulture.
- Olivia Nyaidho Executive Director | Development in Gardening Kenya - With nearly 20 years of experience working alongside smallholder farmers, she has dedicated her career to advancing horticulture and agroecology as pathways to more equitable communities. For more than a decade, Olivia has led DIG’s programs in Kenya, which focus on training marginalized women farmers in agroecological vegetable production to strengthen food security, nutrition, resilience, and social cohesion. In her global role, she also provides technical support to DIG programs in Uganda and Senegal. Olivia holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from Egerton University and a Master’s in Project Planning and Management from the University of Nairobi. She serves on the governing board of PELUM Kenya, a leading network of organizations promoting agroecology solutions for smallholder farmers.
- Dr. Freda Asem Senior Lecturer, Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness | University of Ghana. She holds a PhD in Development Studies from University of Ghana, an MSc. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, and a BSc. in Agricultural Economics from University of Ghana, Legon. Freda is also the Associate Director for the West Africa Horticulture Innovation Hub. Dr. Asem is an agricultural economist by training and a researcher with over 20 years of experience in the agricultural sector. She is passionate about agricultural development in Ghana and Africa at large; particularly in relation to smallholder farmers. Her research focuses on agribusiness, agrifood systems and agricultural value chain analyses and their implications for improving the livelihoods of all value chain actors; most importantly smallholder farmers.
- Dr. Janelle Larson Associate Professor, Agricultural Economics | Pennsylvania State University - Her research focuses on international rural development, with work primarily on gender in development, land markets, and value-chain analysis. She was involved in USAID-funded research projects on gender and horticulture in Honduras, (funded by the Horticulture Innovation Lab at UC Davis), on gender in Cambodia (Sustainable Intensification Lab at Kansas State) and on women’s time poverty in Ghana (Peanut Innovation Lab at Georgia). Larson was also the gender consultant for the Horticulture Innovation Lab at UC Davis and was co-Chair of the Innovation Lab Affinity Group for Gender. Through these projects and the PSU Gender Equity through Agricultural Research and Education (GEARE) initiative she has provided numerous workshops on gender in development and incorporating gender in research and outreach. In addition, she leads a multi- disciplinary collaborative effort to develop livelihoods for highly vulnerable youth in Kenya involving undergraduate students. Larson received Penn State Global’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025.
- Carla Legros Consultant | CGAP World Bank - Carla Legros is a strategy and finance professional with over a decade of experience shaping agricultural and food systems across Africa. At One Acre Fund, she led the internal consulting team, advising senior leadership on commercialization strategies for smallholder farmers. Previously at Dalberg Advisors, she advised development actors on investments in agribusiness, food systems, and inclusive finance. At Aceli Africa, Carla designed and operationalized blended-finance incentives that mobilized $300M in lending to agricultural SMEs. She is currently at CGAP at the World Bank, supporting financial institutions to design climate- and gender-responsive products. She is based in Nairobi, Kenya.
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