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“THE SECOND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE, HELD IN WASHINGTON, D.C., ON JUNE 28-JULY 2, 1998” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Senate section on pages S9607-S9608 on July 31, 1998.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE SECOND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE, HELD IN
WASHINGTON, D.C., ON JUNE 28-JULY 2, 1998
Mr. LEAHY. The role of women in the production and development of the global agriculture system has historically been largely overlooked. Women, however, are an indispensable part of the system, producing 65% of the world's food supply. They have historically held the primary burden for the production, acquisition, and preparation of food for their households. According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, in Africa women produce up to 80% of the total food supply.
Women contribute a great deal to the agricultural backbone upon which we all rely, and yet they too often go without praise or thanks. I want to recognize the invaluable role that women play in feeding the world.
In the last few years, several important steps have been taken to assure that women working in agriculture around the world are given the recognition they deserve. In 1994, the First International Conference on Women in Agriculture was held in Melbourne, Australia. It was designed as a forum for women involved in agriculture to come together and share their experiences while learning more about successful farming and agri-business techniques. This conference was one of the first attempts to call attention to the specific roles women play in the agricultural world.
The following year, the Fourth United Nations World Conference on Women was held in Beijing, China. It was at this international conference that a decision was made to call on the world's governments to finally measure and value uncompensated work by women, including agricultural labor, in their respective country's official statistics.
In 1997, President Clinton proclaimed October 15 as International Rural Women's Day. In doing so, he again brought to the world's attention that rural women comprise more than one-quarter of the world's population and form the basis of much of the world's agricultural economy. These important events provide a substantial foundation that we must continue to build upon.
The Second International Conference for Women in Agriculture, recently held here in our nation's capitol, continued to capitalize upon the efforts of the past by focusing on the status of women and their agricultural contributions to the world. Women from all parts of world, including my home state of Vermont, gathered to discuss and learn about the major concerns of women in agriculture.
Ten Vermonters, including farmers and representatives from the Vermont Department of Agriculture and the Vermont State Farm Bureau, attended the conference. Linda Aines, Beverly Bishop, Diane Bothfeld, Nancy Bruce, Kate Duesterberg, Bunny Flint, Debra Heleba, Sandra Holt, Martha Izzi, Lindsey Ketchel, Daphne Makinson, Kristin Mason, and Mary Peabody participated in the conference and contributed to the events with an extremely well-received exhibit of photographs and goods produced by Vermont women, including cheese and maple syrup. These women joined with representatives from throughout the country and the world to discuss agriculture issues while celebrating their roles as food producers. Issues ranged from protection from banned chemicals and hazardous equipment to biotechnology, some of the most debated and contentious agriculture issues facing our world today.
We need to continue to nurture the seed of promise and hope planted by the Women in Agriculture Conference. At the conclusion of the conference a caucus of women representatives, including Vermont's, presented a resolution declaring that the role and rights of women in agriculture should be respected and supported by the nations and societies they serve and that they be valued and consulted as equal partners in the production and trade of agricultural goods around the world. We must not ignore this resolution and the movement it represents. Mr. President, I ask that the text of resolution be placed in the Record after my remarks.
Women involved in agriculture around the globe deserve our appreciation and respect and have gone far too long without it. Conferences such as the one held in Washington bring attention to the plight of women in agriculture while aiding the communication between women in agriculture in the advanced world and women in the developing one.
A great deal more work needs to be done, however, before the dreams and ambitions of women involved in agriculture everywhere are realized. I implore all the members of Congress to join me in acknowledging our debts to the women of the agricultural world, celebrate their attempts to bring their work to the attention of the world, and help to make their ambitions and goals reality.
The resolution follows:
Resolution of the Second International Conference for Women in
Agriculture
Whereas women are an integral and critical part of the global food production system, producing 65 percent of the world's food supply; and
Whereas a stable and reliable supply of safe and nutritious food is an essential component of human health and a hallmark of national prosperity, and is in the best interest of global security; and
Whereas maintaining an ample food supply depends on an agriculture that is respectful of those who work the land, respectful of the environment, and sustainable over the long term, be it therefore
Resolved, That the role and rights of women in agriculture must be respected and supported by the nations and the societies that they serve; that women involved in agriculture, whether by choice or by need, shall be valued and consulted as equal partners in the production and trade of agricultural goods, and that women in agriculture shall be valued and consulted as well in the best practicable methods of agricultural production to sustain human health, international prosperity, and the global environment.
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