CARE and Cargill Renew Partnership to Improve 1 Million Lives by 2020

MINNEAPOLIS, March 9, 2017 /3BL Media/ – Marking International Women’s Day, CARE and Cargill today announced a renewed three-year, $7 million commitment to improve 1 million lives by 2020, many of them women in rural communities around the globe.

Cargill and CARE have collaborated for more than 50 years, with Cargill investing $18 million in working with CARE since 2008. The partnership has improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Central America, Africa and Asia. The next phase will focus on:

• Raising farmers’ productivity and livelihoods
• Increasing farmers’ access to markets
• Improving food and nutrition security
• Strengthening community governance and education

"Cargill has been a crucial partner as we work to alleviate poverty and ensure the resilience of communities around the world,” said Marcela Hahn, CARE’s assistant vice president for strategic partnerships. “The partnership has been successful because the two organizations share complementary values, while Cargill’s funding and commercial expertise dramatically accelerate our shared impact."

Since 2013, Cargill and CARE have reached an estimated 300,000 people.

• In Central America, the Nourishing the Future program has provided productivity training for farmers, nutrition education for children and families, gender dialogues with local leaders, and business management training for women entrepreneurs. Close to 20,000 people directly benefited from these programs.
• In West Africa, through the Cargill Cocoa Promise, the two organizations have offered training and other support to nearly 9,000 cocoa farmers and their families in more than 120 communities. They have established more than 130 savings and loans programs, where many of the members are women seeking financial stability to grow their farm operations and small businesses.
• In India, Cargill and CARE have trained health workers who have helped reduce childhood malnutrition in more than 300 villages in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Additionally, in Odisha state programming has offered training and assistance to 13,000 women farmers. These farmers have seen yields increase by 23 percent and profits rise by an average of 64 percent. Additionally, more than 5,000 cattle-rearing households saw incomes increase more than 200 percent.

"Through shared accountability and a comprehensive approach, Cargill and CARE have been able to achieve measurable, sustained improvements, especially when it comes to empowering women and girls as catalysts of change," said Michelle Grogg, senior director of corporate responsibility for Cargill.

The next three-year phase will focus on improving 1 million lives by employing the same proven approaches that have driven previous progress. The partnership will reach additional communities and new geographies, including Costa Rica and Indonesia.

• Projects in Central America will expand from 66 to nearly 80 communities, including Costa Rica for the first time. There, CARE and Cargill will activate schools as centers for community engagement in nutrition, through both educational programming and improved facilities such as kitchens and gardens. Projects also will aim to empower women entrepreneurs launching micro-enterprises.
• In Indonesia, near Cargill’s business operations in Banten and South Sulawesi, projects will emphasize clean water and sanitation solutions as well as nutrition education. Despite its status as a middle-income economy, Indonesia struggles with a high rate of stunting among children under five (38 percent), driven in part by contaminated water and poor sanitation that lead to malnutrition. CARE has a track record of successful programs to combat these issues.

About Cargill
Cargill provides food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services to the world. Together with farmers, customers, governments and communities, we help people thrive by applying our insights and 150 years of experience. We have 150,000 employees in 70 countries who are committed to feeding the world in a responsible way, reducing environmental impact and improving the communities where we live and work. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center.

About CARE
​Founded in 1945, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside poor girls and women because, equipped with the proper resources, they have the power to lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. Last year, CARE worked in 94 countries and reached more than 80 million people around the world. To learn more, please visit www.care.org.

Contacts:

Deanna Petersen
Cargill
952.742.6245
deanna_petersen@cargill.com

Brian Feagans
CARE
404.979.9453
bfeagans@care.org