DuPont, Global 4-H Network Establish Partnership for Youth Development
14 October 2011 DuPont and National 4-H Council announced a partnership to strengthen youth development in rural African communities, according to a statement.
DuPont’s commitment of up to $2 million over the next two years will allow the global 4-H network to help African youth create sustainable livelihoods and improve household and national food security for people across the continent.
Following a successful pilot in Tanzania that was completed this spring, the global 4-H network now will launch a year-round Leadership Institute for 4-H leaders and volunteers in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania, starting in January 2012, according to the statement. The global 4-H network will train African-based 4-H leaders and mentors about agricultural innovation and farming practices. They also will provide culturally relevant, research-based tools, expertise and resources that can be used at the local level.
“After walking the fields with many African farmers, I understand the urgent need to engage African youth in agriculture, where pressures of food insecurity are greatest. The farmer who will feed the world over the coming decades is a young person today. Empowering them to do so is a great responsibility for all of us,” said DuPont Executive Vice President James C. Borel in a statement. “DuPont and 4-H share a belief that youth development is a key sustainability initiative to address global food security. What’s more, our African-based businesses also are committed to imparting agricultural training to developing farmers, making this partnership a natural fit on many levels.”
Sharing a similar global footprint, 4-H and DuPont plan to access local leadership to extend the program, according to the statement. 4-H programs have taken root in more than 70 countries, and DuPont has strong relationships with farming communities in more than 90 countries through its agriculture-based businesses.
“Youth development is the world’s best long-term solution to ensure food security and global economic stability,” said Donald T. Floyd Jr., president and CEO of National 4-H Council. “4-H’s 100-year history in agricultural innovation and youth skill-building combined with an existing infrastructure in more than 70 nations, has uniquely positioned our organization to equip millions of young people in developing nations with the skills needed to build a truly sustainable future.”
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