Date:27/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/11/27/stories/2008112751551900.htm

Back Gates Foundation grants $6.7 m to help rural women

Institute gets money to expand ‘micro-land ownership’ programme.

The programme will help landless women and their families achieve food security and escape poverty through access to agricultural services on land as small as 1/10th of an acre.

Our Bureau

Hyderabad, Nov. 26 The Rural Development Institute (RDI), an international non-profit organisation working to secure land rights for the world’s rural poor, has received a $6.7 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The grant is intended to expand its “micro-land ownership” programme in India to help landless women and their families achieve food security and escape poverty through access to agricultural services on land as small as 1/10th of an acre, RDI said in a press release.

“Women comprise a significant majority of India’s agricultural labour force, yet they rarely have rights to land and are often among the most vulnerable groups in India,” said Mr Tim Hanstad, President and CEO of the Seattle-based NGO, which has been working in India since the late-1990s.

“With this investment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, RDI will be able to deepen its ‘micro-land ownership’ work,” Mr Hanstad said.

“Agricultural productivity has a significant impact on the livelihoods of the world’s poorest people,” said Mr Rajiv Shah, Director of the Agricultural Development programme at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The grant will allow RDI to focus specifically on helping women in Orissa and West Bengal to obtain ownership of small plots, and maximise the nutritional and income-producing potential of their land.