Washington, DC
October 23, 2002
Speech at International
Business Conference Highlights Benefits of Plant Biotechnology
for Women in
the Developed and Developing World.
Plant biotechnology is an important tool to help empower women
in both the developed and the developing world,
Monsanto Company's Senior
Vice President of Public Affairs said today at the Business
Women's Network Summit
"Women are vital in nourishing the world," said Sarah Hull in a
speech to the summit in Washington, D.C. "New agricultural
technologies like plant biotechnology are a tool to help
increase the self-sufficiency of female farmers and to help
ensure more and better food for their families and communities."
"Plant biotechnology also holds promise to enhance the staple
crops that provide nourishment desperately needed in the
developing world," she said.
In the developed world, Hull said women are playing a more
prominent role in agriculture as farmers, policy makers and
consumers. Many of these women are learning more about the
environmental and economic benefits of crops enhanced through
biotechnology, including increased yields, improved farm
productivity and reduced pesticide use, she said.
Hull also said biotech crops are particularly beneficial to
women in the developing world where women provide 60 to 80
percent of the food, according to the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations.
"Women in the developing world are using the least efficient
agricultural tools and are among the world's most impoverished
farmers," Hull said. "Biotech crops can increase the
productivity of farmers in the developing world, providing them
with enough food to feed their families and communities, as well
as a surplus to sell."
"Biotech crops can help ensure a more stable and self-sufficient
form of farming in the developing world," she said.
Hull also said because there is less spraying and weeding with
biotech crops, they significantly reduce the workload of
farmers. As a result, women in the developing world would have
more time to tend to their children and girls would have more
time to attend school, she said.
Hull said researchers are working to develop virus-resistant
root crops in the developing world like sweet potato and cassava
in Africa. Plant biotechnology could help protect these staple
crops, which feed hundreds and millions of people, from
devastating diseases that can destroy harvests, she said.
"Biotech crops are a cost-effective and convenient tool to
ensure increased yields of core crops in the developing world,
and to provide access to the nutrients people need to improve
their health and quality of life," said Hull.
"As scientists around the world
come to recognize women's role in agriculture, more research is
taking into account their concerns and knowledge about
agriculture and food products," she said. "In the future, this
research will yield tremendous benefits for women and the
world."
Monsanto Company is a leading provider of technology-based
solutions and agricultural products that improve farm
productivity and food quality.
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