Verdens måske rigeste mand vil hjælpe nogle af de fattigste – verdens hundreder af millioner småbønder
Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Tuesday called on US and global leaders to help the small farmers in the developing world.
Gates noted that three-quarters of the world’s poorest people rely on small plots of land for their food and income. Helping these small farmers grow and sell more so they can become self-sufficient is the most effective way to reduce hunger and poverty, he said, citing examples of progress already happening in Africa and South Asia.
At a food security conference, Gates called for US leadership in a global campaign to expand food production. Investment in high-yielding seeds, better farming techniques, improved tools and sales outlets ‘is strikingly effective,’ he said.
– It is proving the point over and over again – helping poor farming families grow more crops and get them to market is the world’s single most powerful lever for reducing poverty and hunger, said Gates.
The effort to beat world hunger by funding agricultural development in poor countries is the second biggest program run by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation after its global health initiative, Gates noted.
He urged the US and other countries not to make further reductions in agriculture funding. The call for better funding for agriculture comes as food prices have hit all-time highs, driving more people into poverty.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
