Devex: Opinion: The private sector should invest in women farmers to fight global hunger
Jon Banner, executive vice president of global communications and president of PepsiCo Foundation at PepsiCo, and Michelle Nunn, president and CEO of CARE USA

“…Women have less access to the tools, decision-making power, supplies, and information they need to help their families thrive. Many women are barred from making decisions in their own homes about how much money is spent on food even though they are the ones responsible for putting food on the table. … This is hardship. … But this is also opportunity: The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that giving women equal access to basic resources and services could increase yields on women’s farms by 20-30 percent, which could raise macroagricultural outputs in developing countries by 2.5-4 percent. … To attack pressing global challenges, such as gender equity and the daunting prospect of feeding a future world of 9 billion people, we must support [women]. … This is why CARE has launched ‘She Feeds the World,’ an initiative to empower women farmers in developing countries to better support themselves, their families, and their communities. The PepsiCo Foundation is the program’s largest private sector supporter to date … If every company with an agricultural value chain plays a part to empower women farmers, together we will ensure not only a level field for women farmers across the globe but also one that can feed the future in a growing world” (3/25).