( CNN ) -- Think of eight people you know . One of them may go to bed hungry tonight . Not surprisingly , about 98 % of hungry people live in developing countries and the crisis will likely get worse . Over the next 12 years , the United Nations projects the global population will hit 8 billion people . If we want to solve the problem , we first have to target the people who produce the food . For nearly 70 years , Heifer International has been working with small farming communities to raise productivity and create a surplus that can be sold or provided to other hungry people . Next , we focus on the women . There are 600 million small farmers and herders in the world , but one of the key reasons there are so many hungry people is because nearly half of those farmers are women . Even though they are as equally capable as male farmers , these women face challenges that cause them to grow less food . According to a recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ( FAO ) , women farmers typically have less land to farm and probably do n't own that land . They own fewer farm animals and have less access to improved seeds . In addition , they have lower education levels than men and are less likely to get credit or insurance . In fact , if women farmers were on the same playing field as their male counterparts , the FAO says the number of hungry people in the world would be reduced by up to 17 % . So how do we level that playing field ? We connect the unconnected . This is simply organizing farmers -- connecting them to each other , to supply chains and then to markets . But it goes deeper than traditional community development . Communities have to become engaged in a journey of personal transformation as individuals , families and villages . For success to be solid , there must be harmony that connects and heals the psychological and social effects of generations of poverty and hunger . It takes months of training for this transformation to take root . Only then does the physical transfer of livestock and other agricultural inputs like goats , heifers , seeds or trees take place . Then we prepare the families and work together to build pro-poor , wealth-creating systems to get their products into markets . The transformation we witness in community after community is a path from hopelessness to a sense of personal leadership , ownership and purpose . Self-confidence is built and equality develops between men and women . It is so powerful to watch people being incredibly proud that they have made the step from feeling oppressed , diminished and insignificant to becoming part of the solution . One of our largest programs is Rural Entrepreneurs for Agricultural Cooperation in Haiti . It 's a five-year commitment to rebuild rural communities and improve economic opportunities . By the end of the project , we will have helped more than 20,000 vulnerable rural families with jobs , skills training and disaster preparedness . Working faster and bigger has to be our ultimate goal so that the small farmers of today can be fed and can prepare for the rapidly growing population . Success will depend on deeply embedded social engagement on the part of those farmers . And , on our part , to connect with them in ways that are supportive , patient and ultimately highly productive . Ending world hunger can be done .
About 98 % of hungry people live in developing countries . Heifer International 's mission to end world hunger begins with small farmers . Comment: Heifer International believes empowering women is key to ending the global hunger crisis .