5 Million Female Farmers In Africa Will Benefit By PepsiCo Funded Project

PepsiCo Foundation, an arm of an American multinational food, snack, and beverage company has announced USD 18 Mn investment in a project that will benefit 5 million female farmers in Africa.

The project dubbed ‘She Feeds the World’ was launched by CARE, an international humanitarian agency, in a bid to combat gender inequality in the agricultural sector.

CARE delivers emergency relief and long-term international development projects. Founded in 1945, it is one of the largest and oldest humanitarian aid organizations that focus on fighting poverty globally. The CARE-launched project which is focused on the developing parts of the world will benefit 50 mn female farmers globally together with their families. The initiative is aimed at meeting the nutritional needs of a growing global population.

The grant raised by PepsiCo Foundation will support women farmers in significant food producing countries including Egypt, Nigeria and Uganda. The funds will help provide economic support and education to female farmers and their families. It will also aid the supply of other resources they may require to increase their productivity and crop yields, boost their income, secure financing and links to new markets.

It will enable the female farmers acquire “land rights, financing, and agricultural inputs such as seeds; access new markets for their products; and develop the skills and techniques to build resilient and sustainable farms.”

CARE President and CEO Michelle Nunn stated, “We are thrilled to partner with the PepsiCo Foundation, which shares our belief that women farmers possess enormous potential to substantially improve family nutrition and reduce hunger. Grounded in seventy years of experience developing impact and proven models, CARE’s She Feeds the World is a bold approach that aims to scale what works.” Adding that they are aware that could not work without engaging PepsiCo Foundation.

PepsiCo Chairman & CEO and The PepsiCo Foundation Chairman said, “As a business rooted in agriculture, PepsiCo recognizes the power of agriculture to lift people out of poverty and feed families.”

“She Feeds the World will help millions of smallholder women farmers get the resources and training they need to increase their crop yields, access markets and gain more reliable sources of income. The PepsiCo Foundation is investing in this initiative because it has the potential to create change at scale, increasing food security and enhancing the livelihoods of 50 million women farmers and their families.”

PepsiCo Foundation notes that women account for nearly half of all agricultural labor in developing countries and they work 13 hours more every week than men, often without training, proper tools, like seeds and fertilizers, and rights to their land. Studies show that if these female laborers were accorded same access to resources as their male counterparts, they could increase yields on their farms hence lower the number of hungry people in the world by up to 150 million.

CARE and the PepsiCo Foundation hopes to reach these women and ensure they also get an opportunity to grow and in turn feed more people through increased yields.

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