EDUCATION FOR RURAL PEOPLE TO BOOST AGRICULTURAL = PRODUCTIVITY IN LATIN AMERICA

EDUCATION FOR=20 RURAL PEOPLE TO BOOST AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY IN=20 LATIN AMERICA

FAO, UNESCO=20 and Other Organizations Join to Fight Illiteracy

(Reissued as=20 received.)

SANTIAGO DE = CHILE/ROME, 2 August=20 (FAO) -- An international campaign on education for rural people aims = to=20 improve agricultural productivity and reduce hunger, malnutrition and = poverty=20 in Latin American, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) = announced=20 today.

The campaign will be = launched at=20 a regional workshop on =93Food Security and Education for Rural = People=94 (3 to=20 5 August = 2004) in Santiago=20 de Chile.

Organized by FAO and = the United=20 Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), = the=20 workshop also involves the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in = Agriculture (IICA), the World Bank and the Italian Development = Cooperation=20 (DGCS).

The FAO/UNESCO = education=20 campaign for Latin America is part of the = global=20 education for rural people partnership initiative, led by FAO and = implemented=20 in collaboration with UNESCO and more than 100 partners, including=20 non-governmental organizations and universities. It is a = follow-up to=20 the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development.

Globally, 1 billion = people are=20 illiterate, of which about 130 million are children. Most of = them live=20 in the less developed regions where the majority of the 840 million=20 undernourished people are also concentrated.

The majority of the=20 undernourished and illiterate people in Latin = America=20 live in rural areas, FAO said.

A recent regional = study on=20 education for rural people in=20 = Brazil,=20 Chile, = = Colombia,= =20 = Honduras,= =20 = Mexico,=20 = Paraguay = and=20 Peru = will=20 provide background for discussion.

In=20 = Guatemala= for=20 example, the country with the highest percentage of rural population = in the=20 region, the adult age group (25-59 years) in urban areas had an = average of 6.5=20 years of schooling in 1998 while the same age group in rural areas had = only=20 1.9 years of school attendance.

=93Expanding and = improving=20 education can be one of the most effective ways to reduce poverty, = hunger and=20 malnutrition. Malnutrition rates decline with increased = literacy,=20 especially female literacy=94, FAO expert Lavinia Gasperini = said.

Research shows that = a farmer=20 with four years of elementary education is almost 9 per cent more = productive=20 than a farmer with no education. When inputs such as = fertilizers, new=20 seeds or farm machinery are available, the productivity increase rises = to 13=20 per cent.

New Policies

An increasing number = of=20 countries in Latin America are recognizing the=20 importance of education for rural people and are adopting policies to = make it=20 more accessible and relevant.

Almost half the = rural schools in=20 = Colombia,= for=20 example, have adopted the=20 = =93NewSchool=94=20 model (Escuela Nueva). These are schools that emphasize = participatory=20 learning and employ a curriculum that combines the national core = content with=20 local modules relevant to the culture and needs of rural = people.

Communities and = parents are=20 actively engaged in the schools. Dropout rates are far lower and = third=20 grade scores in Spanish and mathematics are significantly higher than = in=20 traditional schools.

In=20 Mexico = an=20 education programme, Programa de Education Salud y Alimentacion = (PROGRESA),=20 provides cash transfers to more than 2.6 million poor rural families = as long=20 as they send their children to school.

The programme also = provides=20 nutritional supplements for infants and small children in = participating=20 families. After its first three years in operation, enrolment = for the=20 critical transition year from primary to secondary school increased by = 20 per=20 cent for girls and 10 per cent for boys.

About 100 policy = makers and=20 development planners from ministries of agriculture, ministries of = education=20 and civil society organizations will attend the workshop.

Contacts: = Pierre Antonios,=20 Information Officer, FAO, e-mail: pierre.antonios@fao.org, tel.: (+39) = 06 570=20 53473; for radio interviews: Liliane Kambirigi, Radio = Information=20 Officer, e-mail: liliane.kambirigi@fao.org, tel.: (+39) 06 570 = 53223.

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