WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture hearing, U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp spoke about how supporting agriculture in the U.S. and abroad can ease hunger around the world.
As a member of the Committee and a leader of the Committee’s Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy, Heitkamp traveled to several African countries in August 2014 for an official Senate trip with a group of female senators. During the trip, they assessed how the U.S. can better support economic growth and food security in developing countries, and emphasized the need to empower women to play a key role in supporting agriculture growth in these communities.
“We’ll never end global hunger unless women and smallholder farmers play a central role – and that’s true not just abroad, but also right here at home,” said Heitkamp. “From small farms in Ethiopia to wheat fields and ranches in North Dakota, women and family farms are helping lead the way in combating hunger. Our country’s food aid and our research to fight environmental and disease pressures that farmers face globally keep us engaged in the world, supporting economic growth and human rights in emerging democracies.”
Representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the North America Millers Association, the World Food Program, and the Global Child Nutrition Foundation testified at the hearing.
Authorized by the farm bill, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the USDA fund several food aid and development programs to support developing countries. North Dakota crops like beans, peas, and lentils are often used in U.S. programs that help feed the world, as are North Dakota wheat, corn-soy blend, and vegetable oil. USDA also plays a major role in research to help combat environmental and disease pressure in developing countries.
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During her two-week Senate trip to Africa in 2014, Heitkamp visited agricultural research and training centers in Senegal, Ethiopia, and Tanzania, and was briefed by agriculture officials about the importance of supporting good jobs, promoting healthy food, and expanding to new markets.
In May, Heitkamp brought USDA Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden to North Dakota, and – joined by U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota – reinforced the need to encourage women to take on leadership roles in the agricultural industry and to work proactively in addressing roadblocks to their success. Heitkamp and Klobuchar spoke with USDA Deputy Secretary Harden, as well as female leaders from North Dakota and across the region, about ways to improve outreach and address challenges head on to promote more female leadership in the agriculture sector.
Recent data shows women make up one-tenth of principal farm operators in North Dakota, compared to 30 percent nationwide. Heitkamp is working to make sure that women, who help generate more than $136 million in annual agricultural sales across North Dakota, remain a strong force in the nation’s agricultural industry.
