Address by Joan Holmes,
President of The Hunger Project

On the occasion of the Africa Prize for Leadership, October 9, 1999

I'm thrilled you are here this evening on this very special occasion.

Tonight we award the most prestigious prize for Africa – the coveted award that has come to be known as the Nobel Prize for Africa.

This year, the Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger honors the African Woman Food Farmer – the 100 million courageous women who day in and day out work to feed the sub-continent of Africa.

No individuals have ever been more deserving of having their work recognized. At the same time, few individuals have been more marginalized, at enormous cost to Africa and to all of us.

Tonight, here in this room, we begin the process of setting this right.

Contribution of the African Woman Food Farmer

The rural women of Africa produce 80% of Africa's food. They do virtually all of the work to transport, store, process and market Africa's food.

These rural women also are fundamentally responsible for the wellbeing of their children, husbands and often the elderly, as well as all the household chores.

They work a 16-hour day, and use virtually the same minimal tools and resources as their grandmothers used a millennium ago.

In addition, they provide 90% of the water, wood and fuel needs of the household. This can mean – carrying water jugs on their heads weighing as much as 70 pounds – and walking 3-6 hours each day to fetch water and firewood.

Bottom line, African women are meeting the basic survival needs of the entire sub-continent – despite the fact that she and her work go unnoticed, unacknowledged and unsupported.

The obstacles she faces

Although women in Africa produce 80% of the food – they own 1% of the land – receive 7% of the agricultural extension services – and less than 10% of the credit given to small-scale farmers.

Instead of the African woman being recognized for her extraordinary contribution to the African continent – she has the lowest socio-economic status in all of African society.

Societal relations are so securely established that she may not question her subordinated position.

She may accept her inferior status because she cannot imagine any alternative to it.

She may believe that the inequalities exist because of her individual misfortune rather than social injustice. Or, she may believe that her oppression is divinely ordained or biologically determined.

To the world, and often to herself, she does not even exist. When policies are formulated, programs developed, budgets drawn, decisions made about her life, she is simply not present.

She is unnoticed. Unappreciated. Unacknowledged. Unsupported. She is invisible.

The big picture

Africa pays dearly for the lack of support and investment in her food farmers.

Africa is the only region of the world where per-capita food production has declined.

Over the last 25 years, Africa's per-capita food production has declined by 23 percent.

39% of Sub-Saharan Africa is undernourished.

43% of Africans now have inadequate food security.

Over the past twenty years, despite some scattered successes, the harsh reality is that progress in breaking the grip of poverty has been minimal at best.

50% of the population now lives below the poverty line.

This lack of progress was foreseen as far back as 1980.

In the Lagos Plan of Action far-sighted African leaders called for the full integration of women into the development process. They warned – development that ignores women will fail – and it has.

Agriculture is the Key

For virtually every nation in the world, the development of agriculture and achieving basic food security provide the foundation for social and economic prosperity.

This has been the story in Europe, North America, Latin America, Korea, Japan, and China. Africa will be no exception.

If Africa is to end hunger; if Africa is to provide food security for its people; if Africa is to build robust and growing economies and take its proper place in the emerging global economy – Africa must have a productive food and agriculture sector.

This means investing in farmers – which in Africa means investing in rural women.

The African Woman Food Farmer is the key to greater agricultural production. She is the key to the end of hunger in Africa. She is the key to a new future for Africa.

It is no exaggeration to say – her future is Africa's future.

Call to Action

The course that Africa must follow is clear.

Half measures, incremental change and gestures will not do. The economic empowerment of 100 million African women food farmers must become Africa's highest priority.

The African woman farmer must be brought into focus, into consciousness, and into the forefront of policy, planning and action.

Agriculture budgets must increase and increase dramatically.

Training, extension services, and credit must reach the rural women.

Appropriate technology must become available to women farmers.

Attitudes must change.

Women must gain voice in the decisions that affect their lives.

These critical actions if taken will create a new future for Africa.

I do not underestimate the magnitude of this challenge.

At the same time, there is no alternative. The challenge must be faced. Action must be taken.

The truth is that Africa has great untapped agricultural potential.

If developed appropriately, Africa could feed its people; be a net exporter of food, and begin a movement toward real prosperity.

The Hunger Project's Stand

We in The Hunger Project are betting on the people of Africa to meet this challenge.

We're confident that this breakdown can be transformed into a breakthrough.

We're committed to investing our human and financial resources to be a part of this transformation.

We know this will not happen overnight.

We in The Hunger Project are committed for the long haul.

We'll stay in it as long as it takes.

The Hunger Project in Africa

Tonight, as a expression of our partnership with the people of Africa, The Hunger Project formally launches – the African Woman Food Farmer Initiative.

This initiative will be the centerpiece of our work in Africa at the start of the new millennium.

This initiative is built on the success of our work in 6 African countries in East, West and Southern Africa, and in collaboration with the Africa Prize laureate in Nigeria.

It has a three-pronged strategy:

First – A Communication and Mobilization campaign. Through a series of public events and strategic communications we intend to awaken Africa and the international community to the extraordinary contribution of the African Woman Food Farmer. We also intend to mobilize a grassroots movement of African women to make empowering the Woman Food Farmer a top priority. Tonight is the beginning of this campaign.

The second prong of the strategy is action on the ground. The Hunger Project will pioneer and demonstrate a methodology that enables women to gain access to the tools, credit and training that will make them economic players, and give them voice in the decisions that affect their lives.

Third – Advocacy. The Hunger Project will build alliances with like-minded organizations both inside and outside Africa. We will advocate for policy changes and budget reallocations to ensure that rural women gain the economic opportunities they need and deserve.

Like all of the work of The Hunger Project, we intend that this initiative will provide a critical missing component in Africa's – and the world's – movement toward the end of hunger.

Beyond this, we also intend to challenge the age-old pattern of dehumanization and exclusion that plagues human society. In doing so, we stand together to strengthen, deepen, and enrich all of our humanity.

In closing

In closing, I want you to know that over the last two decades I've met and spent time with women food farmers across Africa – from Senegal to Zimbabwe.

I feel like I've come to know the African Woman Food Farmer.

I've walked in the fields with her. I've witnessed the deep love she has for her children.

I've been inspired by her wisdom and deeply moved by her strength, resilience, and commitment to her family and nation. I've held her hands. I've looked into her eyes, and I promise you that she is worthy of your commitment, your support, your solidarity, your love, and your investment.

Thank you.