“This brings up again the whole food sovereignty debate and the question whether smallholder farmers’ knowledge and traditional methods are the future of society or a bucolic and sentimental dream of idealists. I think the answer lies somewhere in between; but if the odds are always stacked in one particular way, it’s hard to give both a chance.” – Food(Policy) for thought.
Philanthropy is an interesting concept. Here is one person, or a board of people, with more money to distribute than small nations have budgets. If they choose to concentrate on a topic, their impact can be immense and drive research, NGO actions and government policies in the direction of their liking because of the financial incentive. What a responsibility.
The NGO Grain decided to check on that responsibility and have a look at where the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation spent their money. The Guardian (hilariously – look at who they are sponsored by) reported.
Isn’t that interesting? Of course, development spending can occur in a variety of ways, but it is striking nonetheless where the Gates Foundation thinks most support is needed. And they have become a massive player in supporting agriculture and food issues, with more than $3 billion to date given to various organizations.
Almost a quarter goes…
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