The world can make huge strides in reducing hunger and poverty by helping the world’s poorest farmers become more productive, Microsoft Inc. co-founder Bill Gates said Thursday. Gates, co-chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, spoke at the World Food Prize symposium, where he said more needs to be done to help small-holder farmers in Africa increase production and get their crops to market.
"If we can make small-holder farming more productive and more profitable, we can have a massive impact on hunger and nutrition and poverty," Gates said.
The World Food Prize and the annual conference where it is awarded was founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug, a crop scientist known as the father of the green revolution. Ethiopian scientist Gebisa Ejeta, now a professor at PurdueUniversity in Indiana, is this year’s recipient of the $250,000 prize. Ejeta was recognized for his breakthroughs in developing a drought-resistant sorghum widely used in Africa.
Earlier Thursday, the Gates Foundation announced nearly $120 million in grants to help bring a green revolution to sub-Saharan Africa.
About half the grants will go toward agriculture research in Africa, including experiments with sorghum, millet, legumes and sweet potatoes. Several unusual projects also were announced, including proposals to use cell phones and radio programs to educate small farmers.
The foundation gave the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa $15 million to influence agricultural policy in more than a dozen African nations. The alliance plans to train about 400 agriculture economists at several African universities so they can analyze policies and advocate for change.
