Ella Alimenta al Mundo – CARE Colombia

The program arises from a partnership between CARE and the PepsiCo Foundation, which invested $18.2 million to impact 5 million small-scale women producers and members of their communities over approximately six years (2018-2024). In Colombia, the PepsiCo Foundation's investment is promoting 'She Feeds the World' in agricultural communities, improving food security and gender inequality through the empowerment of small-scale women farmers, by strengthening their skills and capacities. In the first year of implementation, the program benefited more than 6,500 rural women and their communities. Additionally, in 2024, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development allocated $2 billion to strengthen the ongoing processes. The arrival of the 'She Feeds the World' program in Colombia reaffirms the commitment of the PepsiCo Foundation and CARE to rural women and the Colombian countryside.

Where are we?

She Feeds the World arrives in Nariño, in the municipalities of Pasto, Ipiales, Pupiales, Gualmatán, and Córdoba, taking into account that women and small farmers are the backbone of the agricultural industry.

Furthermore, rural women participate heavily in production processes; however, this work is often unpaid, they have little participation in decision-making, face difficulties entering the labour market, and bear a very heavy burden of unpaid domestic work.

Main impacts of the programme:

For two years, the global programme She Feeds the World contributed significantly to the economic and social empowerment of rural women in the department of Nariño, achieving improvements in food security, market access and financial autonomy. This initiative, implemented in the municipalities of Pasto, Ipiales, Pupiales, Córdoba and Gualmatán, reached more than 22,044 participants, 65% of whom are women. Read the full report:

Life stories of rural women

The global programme She Feeds the World has helped millions of small-scale farmers in developing countries to overcome some of the systemic barriers they face, such as access to land, seeds, water, equipment, agricultural and financial training, in order to increase their production.

These are the impacts around the world:

This is how the programme was launched in Colombia:

Reports and resources from the Ella Alimenta al Mundo project

Rural Women's Advocacy Agenda:

The Rural Women's Advocacy Agenda is a tool to promote the empowerment of rural women in Nariño. Based on the recognition of their invaluable contribution to development, this agenda is committed to building a more just and equal society where rural women, guardians of the land, food producers and transmitters of culture, occupy the central place they deserve.

She Feeds and Transforms the World: Impacts of the project's implementation in Nariño:

Learn about the main results in improving food and nutritional security for women smallholder farmers, their families, and communities by strengthening their role in agricultural value chains and their connection to inclusive markets by March 2025.

CARE works worldwide to save lives, defeat poverty, and achieve social justice. We seek a world of hope, inclusion, and social justice, where poverty has been overcome and all people live with dignity and security.

90% of all our expenses go towards program services and supporting our poverty-fighting projects worldwide.