Ja nuary 30, 2008

Gates Foundation Challenged By African Ag Aid

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is dramatically expanding its efforts to help the world's poorest farmers, but the foundation's promising agricultural program is encountering more resistance than its other work. Critics are concerned the program is a market-oriented, technology-centric approach that will open the door to big agribusiness and genetically modified (GM) foods.

"This is not just about helping very poor people grow a little more food," says Rajiv Shah, director of agriculture programs for the foundation, "This is about transforming agricultural economies so people can move on with their lives."

The foundation began making grants a year and a half ago, spending $350 million to date aiming to radically boost farm productivity in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia by introducing new seed varieties, irrigation, fertilizer, training for farmers and access to local and international markets.

Part of the controversy lies in the foundation's choice of approach. It created an initiative with the Rockefeller Foundation called the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) modeled after the original Green Revolution, which helped relieve widespread famine in the 1940s through the 1960s by boosting production of maize, wheat and rice in Latin America and Asia.

Using strains of crops that required fertilizer, pesticides and irrigation, the Green Revolution methods increased yields. But they also damaged the environment, favored wealthier farmers and left some poorer ones deeper in debt. Critics worry AGRA will repeat those mistakes in Africa and that it’s really a corporate strategy for colonizing Africa's food and agriculture systems.

But the area that has generated the most controversy is the foundation’s involvement in GM crops. It has helped fund $37 million in grants for GM research aimed at developing plants such as cassava and sorghum that provide more vitamins, protein or are easier to digest.

The foundation is also helping African governments develop biosafety standards and regulations and train local researchers in the latest plant breeding. Although the scientific data on GM crops and the legal framework to support their use in Africa are several years away, Shah said the foundation intends to pursue those options.

"Our goal is to develop things that help small farmers lead better lives," Shah says. Ultimately, it will be a decision for African governments and farmers.

"Agriculture Aid a Hard Sell," Kristi Heim, The Seattle Times

Corn Demand Not Source of CPI Food Inflation, Says Study

New analysis by Informa Economics debunks the claim that the ethanol expansion and associated increased corn demand has been the sole, or even major, source of Consumer Price Index (CPI) food inflation.

Bruce Scherr, Informa CEO, says the study doesn’t deny that corn demand is expanded due to ethanol growth. But it does show that "statistically, corn prices are essentially uncorrelated with consumer food prices with a correlation coefficient of about 20 percent. Statisticians know that is a relatively minor relationship. In fact, random numbers generally correlate higher than that."

Scherr and his colleagues believe that global commodity prices are being driven by synchronous global growth and middle-income expansion which is growing at an unprecedented rate around the globe.

If anything, Scherr says the U.S. corn system should be congratulated for its efficiency in both meeting strong domestic and export demands at the same time. "The corn market needed 2 billion bushels more for domestic

use over the last couple of years. And the corn sector was able to produce 3 billion bushels more. There’s more corn available today than a year ago by a significant amount," he notes.

"We’re seeing increases in corn yields. Biotech corn became available just over 10 years ago … We’re seeing an acceleration (in yields) since biotech varieties became available," says Informa’s Scott Richmond.

If the United States mandates 15 billion gallons of corn ethanol, "it’s our studied opinion that between now and 2015 to 2020, the ability to produce corn at rates to meet those needs will be extraordinary and non-problematic," states Scherr.

Based on seed technology and improvements in corn production the need for 5.5 billion bushels of corn to produce 15 billion gallons of ethanol is a "slam dunk" Scherr says. "The technology is available, it’s extraordinary and being adopted."

"Informa Releases Report On Food-Versus-Biofuel Costs," David Bennett, Southwest Farm Press

Biotech Cotton Acres Continue to Grow in India

Indian cotton growers have increased biotech cotton plantings from 3.1 million acres in 2005, to 14.4 million acres in 2007, according to new industry data.

Farmers in India’s Tamil Nadu region increased biotech cotton acres by 29 percent last year and plan to increase plantings next season because it offers protection from three types of worms and defoliating pests. Prior to the arrival of biotech cotton in 2003, farmers in the area had nearly given up on the traditional cash crop because of unmanageable pest attacks.

N. Venkatachalam, a leading cotton grower, says before biotech cotton, he used to spend all of his earnings on pesticide. "Even after 15-16 sprayings, we were not able to control the pests and the entire crop was damaged," he says.

In the Indian state of Karnataka, farmers are choosing to plant biotech cotton because it increases profitability and reduces pesticide usage, according to a new study conducted by University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad.

"Sharp Increase in Bt Cotton Acreage: Monsanto," Business Standard

"Bt Cotton Acreage Up 29% in TN," Joseph Vackayil, The Financial Express

"Farmers Find Bt Cotton Profitable," The Hindu

USDA’s New Corn Crop Insurance Discount Makes Sense

John Reifsteck, a corn and soybean farmer, and board member of Truth About Trade and Technology, compares the United States Department of Agriculture’s program to give farmers who plant certain kinds of biotech corn a discount on crop insurance to auto-insurance companies that offer safe-driver discounts to good drivers. He says that farmers who plant biotech crops are like drivers who steer clear of trouble, making them more likely to have good yields and less likely to suffer losses.

Some critics continue to claim biotech crops don’t help anybody but big biotech companies, charging that farmers are duped into buying more expensive seeds that don’t deliver real benefits. Reifsteck says "that‘s sheer nonsense, as just about any farmer who has planted biotech crops can tell you."

"The Numbers Don’t Lie," John Reifsteck, Truth About Trade & Technology