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What's New Attacking Hunger at Its Roots: Help Women Farmers
What's New Attacking Hunger at Its Roots: Help Women Farmers | Attacking Hunger at Its Roots: Help Women Farmers |
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Hillary Clinton on why we need to invest in women's agriculture. In “Attacking Hunger at Its Roots” on the Huffington Post, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discusses the Obama Administration’s commitment to ending global hunger by promoting sustainable farming. Clinton outlines seven steps towards sustainability, highlighting the importance of providing fertilizer, credit and training, improving transportation, and increasing access to trade. But her seventh step may be the most important: taking women and children into consideration. As Clinton states, “70% of the world's farmers are women, but most programs that offer farmers credit and training target men. This is unfair and impractical.” We couldn’t agree more. Although women produce 80% of the world’s food, they own only 2% of the world’s land, so they are often excluded from agricultural programs intended for landowners. It is critical that we make credit and training available to women. This will not only benefit female farmers but also their entire communities, as women are more likely to spend extra income on their children's health, education, and nutrition. Simply put, investing in women is the smartest way to create food security and to make the best use of our aid dollars. Moreover, supporting women's agriculture should be integrated into all of the seven steps Clinton outlines, to ensure they are all as effective as possible. |
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 18 June 2009 ) |