VOA Special English

A woman works in a field at a farm near the Tanzanian town of Arusha
But what about long-term answers to food security? The International Center for Research on Women says one answer is investing more in female farmers.

Rekha Mehra is the director for economic and development issues at the Washington-based nonprofit. She says improving women's ability to get resources and technology can directly increase agricultural productivity.

After all, women produce as much as eighty percent of the food in developing countries. In parts of Africa, for example, men are responsible for cash crops while women are generally responsible for food crops. And, around the world, women are the ones mainly responsible for their families' nutrition.

Women farmers usually have to own land to receive loans and other resources. Yet, in many developing countries, women do not have property rights like men have.

Rekha Mehra says the right to own land will lead to greater investment in the land. She says world leaders need to think about these gender issues when they meet in Rome this week.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss.

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