MINNEAPOLIS — Cargill has pledged to donate $14 million over the next three years in its partnership with CARE, a humanitarian aid organization focused on empowering and meeting the needs of women. The renewed partnership, PROSPER, represents the third wave of Cargill’s collaboration with CARE, aimed at promoting a sustainable and food-secure world program.

With more than 50% of the world’s food being produced by women, this partnership emphasizes the importance of empowering women in agricultural communities, Cargill said.

“Building resilient agricultural supply chains is at the core of our work at Cargill, and we know women play a critical part in driving the long-term change needed to strengthen the food system,” said Pilar Cruz, chief sustainability officer at Cargill. “We are excited to expand our work with CARE and continue improving livelihoods of people in agricultural communities around the world.”

Cargill and CARE have collaborated for more than 60 years to develop and implement 34 programs reaching more than 4.6 million people across 13 countries, including Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Nicaragua and Indonesia.

“Cargill has been CARE’s longest standing corporate partnership — a collaboration spanning more than six decades,” said Michelle Nunn, president and chief executive officer of CARE USA. “With Cargill’s support, CARE has helped millions of people around the world grow more food, expand their incomes and build their communities. The next phase of our partnership will apply the lessons of experience and new innovations to increase our impact and create a more sustainable and food-secure world.”

The $14 million pledged by Cargill will support projects spanning countries including Benin, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Peru, Philippines and Vietnam. The program will focus on three main areas:

• Enabling women’s access to inclusive markets to unlock greater production, expand profits on small-scale agriculture and ensure food security.
• Increasing women’s access to agricultural resources by improving access to market information, extension and inputs, technology and financial services.
• Strengthening and expanding strategic partnerships to advocate for systemic change for women and the broader community.

The PROSPER program was built on decades of evidence and learning rooted in community engagement and systems-strengthening approaches to foster long-term sustainability, according to CARE. PROSPER’s goal is to reach nearly 1.6 million people directly and indirectly.