The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has defended its much-criticized investments in genetic modification firm Monsanto and agribusiness commodity giant Cargill.
According to a blog post by The Guardian, the foundation has reportedly bought 500,000 Monsanto shares worth around USD23 million. The African Center for Biosafety, a South Africa-based watchdog, also found that the foundation was working with Cargill in a USD10 million project to “develop the soya value chain” in Mozambique and elsewhere.
Mark Suzman, director of policy, advocacy and special initiatives for the Gates Foundation’s global development program, says the organization invests in transgenic technologies, or genetic modification, when it believes these technologies have the “potential to address the challenges facing small farmers faster and more efficiently than conventional breeding alone.” Such challenges include degraded soil, drought, pests, malnutrition, disease and climate change.
Support for GM technologies currently represents some 6 percent of the foundation’s total investments in agriculture and nutrition, Suzman reveals in his message posted as a comment under the same Guardian blog entry.
He adds: “The projects we fund that include biotechnology require grantees to develop plans to ensure that the results will be made available to people most in need, at affordable prices, in the developing world. We also support and invest in the development of policies and regulations to ensure the safety and effectiveness of agricultural products. And we support strict environmental safeguards and the use of sustainable farming techniques including preserving healthy soil and promoting improved water use that are only becoming more critical given the growing challenges of climate change. Ultimately, countries and farmers need to decide what’s right for them.”
The foundation has so far made some 268 agriculture and nutrition grants, according to Suzman. Monsanto, he says, is donating technology and expertise to one of these grants, which is the Water Efficient Maize for Africa project, led by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation. The project aims to develop drought-tolerant maize varieties and make them available royalty-free to small farmers in Africa, Suzman notes.
“Continued progress will take sustained commitment in donor and developing countries and a willingness to move beyond ideologies so we can find solutions together,” he concludes.
