Grist: Gates Foundation throws its lot with agribusiness

[marmar]

Gates Foundation throws its lot with agribusiness

8 Jan 2010 5:33 PM
by Tom Philpott


The Gates Foundation has emerged as a kind of de facto USDA for Africa: a deep-pocketed funder with a focus on agriculture, in a continent that has seen ag-research funding plunge over the past several decades.

For a while, the Gates Foundation sought to avoid a reputation as a cheerleader for biotech “solutions” to Africa’s agriculture troubles.

Sure, our nation’s best-funded foundation hired a former Monsanto exec, Rob Horsch, as a program officer. But its official ag-development documents (see, for example, this one) brim with statements on the importance of small-scale farming—a wise idea, given that a majority of Africa’s residents rely on small-scale farming for their sustenance.

And the foundation lavished some cash—a small amount, relatively—on appropriate-tech, farmer-friendly, ecologically sound initiatives.

Then Bill Gates himself gave his blunt pro-biotech speech in October 2009—which I commented on here—at the awards ceremony of the industrial-ag-friendly World Food Prize. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.grist.org/article/2010-01-08-gates-foundation-agribusiness-dryden/