Elimination of Hunger
As a country we have it available to us to make the elimination of hunger our primary focus in our relationship with developing countries. There are food programs that we can support that increase food production among small land-holders and that increase income among the landless.
Via the International Fund for Agricultural Development, swamp reclamation and land redistribution gave women farmers title to land they traditionally worked, increasing rice production. Seed, hoes, pick axes and other hand tools made it possible for 30,000 families in Ethiopia to replant fields through drought rehabilitation programs.
The Grameen Bank, through micro-enterprise loans, gave landless and impoverished men and women the means to establish a livelihood. Repayment on these loans, which averaged $60, is an impressive 99%.
We can urge Congress to support IFAD, micro-enterprise and other programs that empower the powerless to end hunger. We know we have begun--let us continue!
GLORIA STACHURA
Thousand Oaks
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