Bill Gates calls for helping small farmers in developing world

 Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and co-chair of the Bill&Melinda Gates Foundation, on Tuesday called on U.S. and global leaders to help the small farmers in the developing world.

"I came here today to join those calling on the U.S. and other countries to fund agricultural development for poor farming families," Gates said at a symposium joined by USAID administrator Rajiv Shah and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, urging the United States to play a pivotal role in this regard.

Gates noted in his speech 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.

He also urged the United States, which has only met part of its commitment on global agricultural development, to fulfill its pledges made in the past.

"We need the G20 nations to make good on their commitments to small farmers," he said. "But it's hard for us to urge them forward if we scale back."

During a roundtable discussion with the press prior to his speech, Gates told Xinhua that his foundation is cooperating with the research institutes from China, the Philippines and other countries which have developed "deep understanding" on new rice varieties.

He said these new rice varieties can contribute a lot in terms of increasing agricultural productivity in other developing countries.

According to information provided by the Gates Foundation, it has several major agricultural cooperation projects in China, such as the one on Green Super Rice with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

The Gates foundation said that to date it has committed 1.7 billion U.S. dollars to agricultural development.

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