The theme for this year’s World Rural Women’s Day, “Poverty is Everybody’s Business: Education and Training are Key to Poverty Eradication”, is spot on. The fact that 800 million people all over the world do not have enough food to sustain life calls for an all out war to fight hunger and poverty from our midst. Indeed, the fact that most of those affected are mainly women and children who live in rural areas makes the task extremely urgent.

I therefore invite all members of the IFAP fraternity to be at the forefront as we wage the war.

It is my sincere hope that this year’s World Rural Women’s Day celebrations will reinvigorate our common effort to use every means at our disposal to fight hunger and poverty, whatever country it is.

The fight against poverty makes use of market openings, fair prices for agricultural products, appropriate technical support and favourable agricultural and commercial policy environment.

Agricultural programmes should take account of the crucial contribution of women to food production in developing countries and of the particular difficulties they encounter in their day to day agricultural activities.

And education and training represent a strategic weapon to fight world hunger because it allows women to not only improve their production but also to spread their knowledge to the younger generation, the first step to becoming independent and food self-sufficient.

I therefore call upon all governments in the world, international communities and the public sector to invest in women and empower them through education and training to give them the necessary skills to fight poverty concretely.

Let me take this opportunity to invite all rural women and women farmers all over the world, as well as their spouses, friends and families, to join us to celebrate this important day together for our voices to be heard.

Let me wish you the best success today and urge you always to work hard and support each other for solidarity between and for rural women.

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