At yesterday's launch of the U.S. government's new global hunger and food security initiative, Feed the Future (FTF), empowering rural women was continuously pointed out as key to improving food security and reducing hunger and malnutrition.
In a keynote address US AID Adminstrator Rajiv Shah declared: "For years we've talked about the importance of women. We all have. But now, with leadership from Secretary Clinton and Ambassador Melanne Verveer, we are focusing on women in everything we do. We start by focusing on those crops such as sweet potatoes and legumes that we know disproportionately enhance women's standing, women's production and women's incomes.And we're working to ensure that women get equal access to services and support, such as financial services that preferentially target women and extension services delivered by female extension workers. To make this happen, we've asked each of our country teams to expand investments in women's producer networks and expand fellowship programs, such as the AWARD program in Kenya for women who pursue degrees in agriculture and research careers thereafter."
In the following discussion, Shah went on to call women "the core to success." The important role of rural women in agricultural development was also highlighted by other speakers and discussants including Doug Bereuter, Rosa DeLauro, Cheryl Mills and the Honorable Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
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