U.S. AGRICULTURE SECRETARY DELIVERS BANQUET ADDRESS TO INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 1, 1998 -- U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman delivered the dinner banquet address on the fourth day of the Second International Conference on Women in Agriculture, which runs through July 2 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. The conference has drawn more than 1,000 women from more than 40 countries and features addresses and informational sessions from international presenters on a variety of agricultural topics.
"I am pleased to be here with a group of women so knowledgeable about current agricultural issues," said Glickman. "I know that many of you are facing the same challenges in your countries as arise every day here in the U.S. I spoke to Chinese government officials on agricultural topics during my stay last week in China with President Clinton, and was interested to learn about the differences, and similarities, between our two nations."
Other featured speakers at the fourth day of the conference included First Lady of El Salvador Elizabeth Aguirre Calderon; U.S. Department of Labor Deputy Secretary Kitty Higgins; Under Secretary for Women's Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Relations for Argentina Teresa Sola; and U.S. House of Representatives members Eva Clayton and Marcy Kaptur. Workshop presentations today from women around the world will focus on gender discrimination in agriculture, outmigration, value adding through cooperatives, sustainable production, and the role of women in sustainable development.
The conference, hosted by the President's Interagency Council on Women, is being chaired by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "We were very interested to hear Secretary Glickman's comments about his trip to China, and what issues came up during his visit with the President," said Jill Long Thompson, Agriculture under secretary for Rural Development and chair of the International Conference on Women in Agriculture. "It is interesting how many thoughts women from around the world share on the topics so near to them, as they continue to run family businesses, form cooperatives, and manage agriculture-based businesses each day."
Additional information about the conference is available at the ICWA site or by calling (202) 720-4581.
Contact:
Jim Brownlee,
(202) 720-2091