Foundations Give $150-Million for African Agriculture

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation have started a $150-million effort to help African countries grow more food by developing new crop varieties and improving farming techniques.

The grant program, called the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, updates and builds upon Rockefeller’s similar agricultural efforts in Asia, Mexico, and South America, which date back to the 1940s and 50s.

At a press conference announcing the partnership, Mr. Gates said the move was a “natural complement” to the foundation’s efforts in Africa that focus on vaccinations, combating AIDS, and other health issues. The decision to work with Rockefeller grew out of his admiration for the green-revolution efforts around the world, Mr. Gates said.

Five-Year Commitment

The Gates Foundation will contribute $100-million, with Rockefeller giving $50-million, over five years. The money will initially support the Program for Africa’s Seed Systems, which focuses on developing crop varieties that are high-yield and better adapted to the continent’s varied and challenging environments. As much as $20-million will also go to train African crop breeders and agricultural scientists.

Officials from both foundations declined to say how much time or money the grant program will ultimately require. Africa’s wide array of staple crops, poor transportation systems, and lack of widespread irrigation, as well as its political instability, present real challenges to any “green revolution” movement, they said.

Mr. Gates acknowledged that his foundation’s financial commitment to the agricultural project is significantly less than the funds it has spent in Africa and elsewhere on health issues. “I wouldn’t rule out some scaling up, but I doubt it will get to the level of the global-vaccine activity,” he said.

He added that he hopes the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa will be somewhat self-sustaining, as farmers see direct benefits from new seeds and techniques.

The Gates fund’s plans to move into the agricultural arena were made before the investor Warren Buffett decided to donate $30-billion to the Gates Foundation.

Yet “the size of this partnership benefits from the Buffett gift,” Mr. Gates said. “We will be able to look broadly at global development as well.”