In his first speech on agriculture to the 2009 World Food Prize Symposium, Bill Gates emphasized the important role technology such as biotechnology is playing in combating world hunger. Gates also pointed out that the current fight over GM crops is hurting the cause against world hunger.

“Some people insist on an ideal vision of the environment,” Gates said. “They have tried to restrict the spread of biotechnology into sub-Saharan Africa without regard to how much hunger and poverty might be reduced by it, or what the farmers themselves might want.”

What are your thoughts? Should activists be able to limit farmer’s access to crop varieties?

To read more about Bill Gate’s speech, click here.

Yesterday, several experts discussed the role of biotechnology in agricultural production. Here are some of their thoughts on the future of sustainable agriculture and biotechnology.

Jason Clay, SVP, Market Transformation, WWF – Talapia and catfish, both farm-raised, will be the “next white meat.” They require fewer natural resources than livestock and produce the needed daily protein requirement. Also, we’ll need to invest in tropical trees since many of our food products will come from tropical trees. We’ll need to invest in palm trees, cacoa trees, cassava, and sorghum.

Weibin Yin, CEO, Longping High-Tech Agriculture – We’ll need to look at policies that support better pricing of commodity crops to make farming and agriculture profitable.

William Dar, Director General, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics – We will need to invest in dry-land crops grown in regions where the most vulnerable populations live. Crops like sorghum and millet would benefit from further biotech research.

Seyfu Ketema, Exec. Director, Assoc. for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa – In Africa, sorghum and millet are very important. We will need to increase production of these crops.

Finally, Ms. H. E. Gerda Verburg, Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, The Netherlands, quoted Namibia’s Minister of the Environment, “If you do what you did, you get what you’ve got.” She reiterated that nations, public and private sector industries, multilateral organizations, farm organizations and all stakeholders will need to work together to meet critical food needs while practicing sound environmental stewardship. She urged everyone not to continue with the status quo.

India’s biotechnology regulators, the Genetically Engineering Appraisal Committee, approved the use of BT eggplants today. The committee will make their recommendation to the Indian government, and with the approval of Parliament, BT eggplants will provide the first biotech vegetables to be produced on local farms. These eggplants are engineered to provide resistance to a devastating natural pest known as the shoot borer, potentially increasing yields by 40%.

“This is fantastic news,” said said Rajeesh Kumar, a vegetable farmer from Swarnapuri, India and a participant in the Global Farmer-to-Farmer Roundtable at the World Food Prize Symposium. “Crop failure has been a problem for many farmers, who often borrow huge sums of money in order to plant. Biotech crops like these eggplant decrease crop failures and we need more technology to come soon.”

 To read more about the Appraisal Committee’s decision, click here.

To learn more about the importance of eggplant production to India and Southeast Asia (28% of total vegetable volume), you can read The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) report on BT eggplant here.

The 2009 Borlaug Dialogue has officially begun. Today’s agenda is packed with some great presentations and discussions on today’s theme: Food, Agriculture and National Security in a Globalized World. Ambassador Quinn will be speaking at 1:00pm followed by opening presentations by Ellen Kullman – CEO, Dupont, Patricia Woertz - Chairman, CEO and President, ADM and Her Excellency Gerda Verburg - Minister of Agriculture, Nature, and Food Quality, The Netherlands.

We will be posting updates throughout the day so be sure to check in regularly!

For more information on today’s agenda, click here.

Seventeen farmers from around the world gathered for the Global Farmer-to-Farmer Roundtable as part of the World Food Prize Symposium events held in Des Moines, Iowa this week. In its fourth year, the purpose of the gathering is to bring together a diverse group of farmers representing both small and large-scale farms to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the world’s food producers.

The Roundtable is organized by Truth About Trade and Technology and, this year, is sponsored by the Biotechnology Industry Organization and the Council for Biotechnology Information. As population grows and demand challenges our ability to meet food needs, what are the longterm strategies and technologies used by global farmers to feed the world? Farmers from as far away as Kenya, South Africa, India, China and Australia are meeting to discuss the agricultural needs in their communities. Farmers and agricultural experts from the UK, Ireland, Portugal, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Honduras, Argentina and the U.S. are also part of the group and each bring a unique perspective on their local agricultural needs. Nations struggling with the question of how to feed more people, sustainably and in harmony with the environment, need only to listen to what some of these farmers have to say.

Here’s what these farmers are saying:

KENYA: Small-scale farmers provide approximately 70 percent of the food for the country. We need access to all technologies to enable us to feed people. This includes agricultural biotechnology, irrigation technology, zero-tillage technology.The government needs to support this.

SOUTH AFRICA: We have the technology and the demand for the food produced, but there’s a lack of support and incentives for investing in R & D and training the next generation of farmers. The cost of farming is prohibitive.

INDIA: We are losing the next generation of farmers as people move to the cities for better education and jobs. In addition to technology, we need incentives for our young people to pursue farming and make it profitable. We can have all the technology in the world, but without people to use it, we won’t have food.

MEXICO: We need a level playing field for all farmers. We cannot deny some farmers access to technologies; those who have the technology cannot fairly compete with those who do. Also, the conversation needs to be more scientific. We need to talk about biotechnology with less emotion and more science.

PORTUGAL: In Europe, we are 10 years behind the U.S. because of all the restrictions and the EU trying to make decisions for all countries regarding use of biotech seeds. We need to make our own choices for using the technology.

IRELAND: In addition to new technologies for plants, we must also consider the health of the soil that we grow our food on.  We need to understand the soil science better.

CHINA: Investments in agriculture is also an investment in our food security. When we grow enough to feed our people, then we know where our food comes from and we have a secure food supply. We have approved the use of biotech rice but it is not yet commercially available.

Stay tuned for more updates on the Roundtable as we move into Day 2. And coming in the next day or so, don’t miss posts/updates on Bill Gates’ first-ever speech on agriculture and global development as well as presentations by Jeffrey Sachs and U.S Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

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