Madagascar: The Future is Female, Cont'd
This beautiful IFAD report makes a nice addendum for the issue of the rural-urban movement of girls which we raised here. It connects a story about improved farm yields achieved by single mother and daughter small scale farmers, Séraphine and Maria, using improved seeds in rural Madagascar. But here's the rub.
According to IFAD's Rural Poverty Report 2011 the world's future food needs are expected to increase by 70% by the year 2050. But with more and more people seeking better opportunities thus leaving rural areas for cities, who will be left to implement farming solutions for increased yields and, most importantly, how do you keep girls in school (or attract those seeking better quality education to stay) since their labor is integral to how most rural farming gets done and its products processed?