Benn will receive the “Soul of Rurality” award, which is part of an initiative to recognize the men and women who are leaving their mark and making a difference in the rural areas of the Americas.
Ir Arriba
Leaders Of Rurality
The IICA will recognize rural leaders in the Americas, under an initiative to pay tribute to men and women who are leaving their mark and making a difference in rural communities of our hemisphere.
This award pays tribute to those who are playing a unique dual role: guaranteeing food and nutritional security, by producing under all circumstances, as well as protecting the biodiversity of the planet. It will also emphasize their capacity to be positive role models in rural areas of the region.
Rosamund Benn, a coconut oil producer who encourages other rural women in Guyana to process and market their crops, recognized as a Leader of Rurality of the Americas by IICA
Marilyn Hershey, a rural leader who strives to be a voice for U.S. dairy farmers, is named IICA Leader of Rurality of the Americas
Hershey is the first woman to have been appointed to her current position as Chair of Dairy Management Inc., the association of United States dairy farmers that has spearheaded a promotional, research and educational program on the sector to encourage greater milk consumption in the country. It is funded by farmers and the industry.
Five Argentinians, whose daily efforts are improving the welfare of their rural communities, are awarded the title IICA Leaders of Rurality of the Americas
The awardees were Patricia Gorza, Andrea Izzo Capella and Milagros Paulón, from central Argentina’s La Pampa region—considered one of the world’s primary food producing areas—along with José Muñoz and Alina Ruiz, who live and work in northern Argentina.
IICA names Bernarda Salazar and Paulina Carrasco, rural Chileans with a passion for food production, as Leaders of Rurality of the Americasentos, reciben premio del IICA como Líderes de la Ruralidad de las Américas
The Leaders of Rurality award pays tribute to those who are playing a unique dual role: guaranteeing food and nutrition security, by producing under all circumstances, as well as protecting the biodiversity of the planet. It also emphasizes their capacity to be positive role models in rural areas of the region.
Krysta Harden, President of the U.S. Dairy Export Council and promoter of a central role for women in the agrifood industry, receives recognition from IICA as a Leader of Rurality in the America
Harden’s passion for agriculture started when she was a girl, growing up on her family’s peanut farm in the southern state of Georgia. She has come a long way since then in private sector work and public service, taking her to the highest levels of decision-making and responsibility. For instance, she was Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for three years.
IICA recognizes Chile’s Macarena Valdés and Marco Aceituno as “Leaders of Rurality” for their creation of a self-sustainable model farm
The couple established an agroecological farm with an integrated system that includes the recycling of water. They produce food for personal consumption and surplus supplies are traded with neighbors.