CALS Global is thrilled to announce that Dr. Valerie Stull, Faculty Associate from the Department of Community & Environmental Sociology, has been awarded the 2025 Krishna Ella Global Innovation Award for her proposal “Addressing Gender Equity through Multispecies Grazing in South Africa: An Exploratory Study”.
The Krishna Ella Global Innovation Award recognizes projects that exemplify a “5i” approach – being international, interdisciplinary, inclusive, innovative, and integrated – and supports efforts that advance research, education, and/or outreach. Awarded by CALS Global, this fund is designed to catalyze projects that have the potential to become funded or self-sustaining initiatives.
Dr. Stull’s proposal aligns perfectly with this mission, focusing on introducing multispecies grazing (MSG) practices to women rearing small livestock on communal land in order to bolster both ecological and economic sustainability. In collaboration with UW-Madison and the South Africa-based NGO Kidlinks Small Farm Incubator, her project will pilot a gender-sensitive, hands-on MSG training program for rural women in the Mozana and Zikhova villages.
With support from the Krishna Ella Global Innovation Award, Dr. Stull and her team will:
- Develop a community-driven grazing plan for two women’s groups
- Provide a three-day MSG training program
- Six months of follow-up via phone check-ins, visits, and observation to monitor and evaluate success and challenges with implementing MSG
- Baseline, midpoint, and endline interviews with the participants
Overall, the project aims to empower women farmers by providing them with the skills and resources to manage grazing systems and enhance their livelihoods. It also will benefit the community by improving soil fertility and plant growth, which contributes to healthier, more productive grazing lands. Ideally, the project will produce a replicable training model that can be expanded to other communities in South Africa and beyond.
Congratulations, Dr. Stull, on this well-deserved recognition!
Stay tuned for more updates on this project and the 2026 Krishna Ella Global Innovation Award call for proposals!