Honoring Women for their Bold Choices and Positive Impact
When Rwandan farmer Joane Nkuliye decided to start growing iron beans, she was making a bold choice for change. Against the perceived risks of adopting a new agricultural technology, Joane embraced the biofortified beans with the characteristic instincts of a mother and an entrepreneur. It was a decision that would pay off abundantly, for today Joane and her family are reaping the health and commercial benefits of the crop.
Across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, women have been making bold choices to improve the nutrition and livelihood of their families and communities through biofortified crops. They have been driving the spread and impact of these crops, helping us deliver better nutrition, health and productivity to 20 million people.
They include the community-invested mothers who are leading the adoption of vitamin A-rich orange sweet potato in Uganda, the enterprising women who are adding value to yellow vitamin A-cassava in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the spirited activists for local sustainability through biofortified crops in northeastern Brazil.
HarvestPlus joins the international community on March 8 to pay tribute to women for being the agents of positive change. Follow our International Women’s Day campaign featuring some of the women who are boldly advancing our mission to improve nutrition and health for millions of people globally.