Increased Investment in Agriculture will Yield High Benefits

Global agriculture experts warned that cuts in funding for research or programs for implementing new discoveries would be catastrophic for millions of smallholder farmers and their families throughout Africa and much of Latin America and Asia. Speaking at the annual meeting of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) in Maputo, Mozambique, CGIAR chair Katherine Sierra noted that researchers have proven in the past that just small amounts of funding can boost crop yields, defeat devastating pests, and ultimately lift farmers and their families out of poverty.

A new report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) revealed that increase in public investment in agricultural research in developing countries would cut by more than half the number of people in sub-Saharan Africa living on less than $1 a day by 2020. "With both the financial and food crises already starting to affect us now - and with climate change impacts on the horizon - it is especially important to make well-targeted investments that bolster agricultural output across the world,'' said Ren Wang, CGIAR's director.

For more information visit, http://www.cgiar.org/ The report can be downloaded at http://www.ifpri.org/PUBS/agm08/jvbagm2008.asp