In a letter to The Seattle Times, Sam Dryden, director of Agricultural Development at the Gates Foundation, stressed that investment in ag biotech helps small farmers to thrive in a variety of ways, from facilitating access to better seeds  to empowering women farmers.

Dryden explains, “We invest in this kind of research when there’s potential to address challenges like crop diseases and drought that small farmers face faster and more efficiently than conventional techniques.”

Bill Gates, Microsoft Chairman and head of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, writes about the importance of achieving both agricultural productivity and sustainability. As head of the largest foundation in the world, Mr. Gates has made a $1.4 billion commitment to small farmers for reducing global hunger through approaches that include agricultural technology. 

Mr. Gates writes, “I have seen proof that agricultural science can make people’s lives better” and points to advances like the Swarna-sub1 Rice, a seed variety that can survive underwater for more than two weeks and help farmers in places that are prone to floods. According to Bill Gates, the next “Green Revolution” must help feed a billion people using modern technology in a sustainable manner.

You can read the entire piece by Bill Gates here.