Gates Foundation Funded Global Agriculture Projects

Gates Foundation Funded Global Agriculture Projects are project that received funding through the Gates Foundation Global Agriculture grants. Through April 2011, the Gates Foundation gave a total of $1,656,492,804, distributed in 255 separate grants. The average grant size was $6,496,050. See also Gates Foundation Global Agriculture Grants.

Funds are distributed between the categories as follows:
 * Advocacy: 8 grants totaling $24,521,479 (1.5% of global agriculture giving); average size $3,065,185.
 * Conferences: 39 grants totaling $7,484,657 (0.5% of global agriculture giving); average size $191,914.
 * Data and Analysis: 56 grants totaling $126,101,497 (7.6% of global agriculture giving); average size $2,251,812.
 * Productivity Tools and Market Access: 60 grants totaling $840,617,316 (50.7% of global agriculture giving); average size $14,010,289.
 * Research and Development: 45 grants totaling $517,522,783 (31.2% of global agriculture giving); average size $11,500,506.
 * Training, Outreach, and Capacity Building: 47 grants totaling $140,245,072 (8.5% of global agriculture giving); average size $2,983,938.

However, the foundation does give other grants that are agricultural in nature but categorized as Nutrition or Advocacy & Public Policy by the foundation. These grants are not included in the numbers given above, but they are still relevant to any review of the Gates Foundation's role in funding agricultural development programs. Some of these projects and the grants that fund them are listed below under Other Projects.

Advocacy
A total of eight grants with a combined value of $24,521,479 were given to fund advocacy work. Advocacy grants ranged in value from $184,574 to $15,000,000 and averaged 3,065,185. Grantees include:
 * Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, which received $15 million to create AGRA Policy Hubs
 * Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), which received $184,574 for a 2009 Task Force on Food Security.
 * The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, which received a combined total of $3,499,030 in three grants to advocate for increased U.S. efforts on agricultural development overseas.
 * Imperial College London, which received $2,692,835 for its Agriculture for Impact program which "seeks to inform dialogue and decision making around agricultural development by creating a positive and compelling evidence base to demonstrate sustainable, scalable successes in agricultural development and by informing and educating European policymakers on the importance of investment in agriculture to achieve these results."
 * TrustAfrica, which received $1,626,149 for a project called "Building an Effective Advocacy Movement for Sustainable and Equitable Agricultural Development in Africa."
 * Women Thrive Worldwide, which received $1,518,891 to "increase gender integration, beneficiary participation and focus on small farmers in U.S.-based debates on international agricultural development."

Conferences
One frequent purpose for grants are to fund conferences. Altogether, 39 conference grants totaling $7,484,657 were distributed, ranging between $3000 and $995,844 with an average amount of $191,914.

Data and Analysis
Many agricultural development grants go for data gathering and analysis. These include 56 grants totaling $126,101,497. The grants range from $36,757 to $19,404,839 with an average size of $2,251,812.

Productivity Tools and Market Access
A total of 60 grants with a combined value of $840,617,316 were classified as "Productivity Tools and Market Access." Grants ranged between $110,000 and $164,580,000 with an average size of $14,010,289.

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) received five grants:
 * $100,000,000 for AGRA Program for African Seed Systems (PASS) in 2006.
 * $164,580,000 for AGRA Soil Health Program in 2007.
 * $15,000,000 for its AGRA Market Access Program in 2008.
 * $28,000,000 for its AGRA Market Access Program Reinvestment in 2010.
 * $6,700,000for Farm Organization Support Centre for Africa (FOSCA) in 2010.
 * Total: $289,080,000

Other grants include:
 * Acumen Fund, Inc. received $6,739,795 for the Acumen Agricultural Facility in 2009.
 * Agribusiness Systems International received $4,075,918 for "Sunhara India: Improve Horticulture Production Practices and Increase Incomes by Linking Farmers to a Diverse Set of Buyers" in 2009.
 * The American Institutes for Research in the Behavioral Sciences received $9,969,232 for Farmer Voice Radio in 2009.
 * The Association for Progressive Communications received $132,224 for South African Mobile Solutions for African Agriculture in 2009.
 * The BAIF Development Research Foundation received $182,152 for Strategic Planning for Upscaling of Dairy Husbandry-Based Sustainable Livelihoods in 2008.
 * The BAIF Development Research Foundation received $6,248,633 for "Determining a Financially Sustainable Model for Delivering Artificial Insemination Services and Other Inputs to Poor Farmers in India" in 2009.
 * Bioversity International received $1,766,369 for Agricultural Geospatial Information Leveraging Environment (AGILE) in 2009.
 * CARE received $5,250,000 for "Strengthening the Dairy Value Chain in Bangladesh" in 2007.
 * Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical received $6,000,000 for "Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato Reaching End Users" in 2005.
 * Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical received $15,240,724 for African Soil Information Service (AfSIS) in 2009.
 * Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical received $281,055 for creating an Integrated Soil Fertility Management textbook for Africa in 2009.
 * CNFA received $2,990,964 for Commercial Strengthening of Smallholder Cocoa Production Project (CSSCPP) in 2008.
 * Cooperative League of the USA received $3,858,858 for "Cotton Value Chain Improvement in Central Mozambique" in 2009.
 * Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH received $25,374,840 for "Competitive African Cashew Value Chains for Pro-Poor Growth" in 2009.
 * Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungssgesellschaft mbH received $24,400,000 for "Competitive African Cotton for Pro-Poor Growth" in 2009.
 * Digital Green Foundation received $2,861,910 for "Participatory Video and Mediated Instruction for Agricultural Extension" in 2008.
 * Farm Concern International received $5,596,772 for "Improving Domestic Marketing of Horticulture Products" in 2010.
 * Food & Agricultural Research Management Limited received $5,188,438 for "Animal Health Services Franchising Business for the Delivery of Vaccines and Pharmaceuticals in Kenya" in 2010.
 * The Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines received $22,515,040 for "Protecting Livestock – Saving Human Life" in 2008
 * Grameen Foundation USA received $4,690,418 for "Building and Scaling the Community Knowledge Worker Network" in 2009.
 * GSMA Foundation received $2,985,090 for a farmer helpline in 2009.
 * Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung received $3,999,894 for Building a Coffee Farmers’ Alliance in Uganda in 2009.
 * Heifer Project International, Inc. received $42,850,000 for the East Africa Dairy Development Project in 2007.
 * IDEO received $499,979 for Interactive Platform for the Human-Centered Design Toolkit in 2010.
 * The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development received $30,000,000 for the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) in 2010.
 * International Development Enterprises received $14,244,609 for Connecting Dollar-a-Day Farmers to Affordable Small-Plot Irrigation and Markets, Rural Prosperity Initiative (RPI) in 2009.
 * International Development Enterprises received $7,315,925 for the Rural Prosperity Initiative (RPI), Phase II in 2011.
 * International Development Enterprises received $27,116,863 for "India MicroIrrigation: Enabling Smallholder Prosperity" in 2007.
 * International Water Management Institute received $9,012,826 for Agricultural Water Management (AWM) Landscape Analysis in 2009.
 * Iowa State University of Science and Technology received $1,459,460 for Seed Policy Enhancement in African Regions (SPEAR) in 2010.
 * KickStart International received $8,196,637 KickStart in Tanzania — Helping People Out of Poverty Using Small-Scale Pump Technologies in 2009.
 * Landesa received $6,728,806 for Micro-Land Ownership for India’s Landless Agricultural Laborers in 2009.
 * Massachusetts Institute of Technology received $4,465,071 for the Agricultural Technology Adoption Initiative in 2009.
 * The National Peace Corps Association received $498,693 for Africa Rural Connect, Phase II in 2009.
 * NetHope received $334,676 for Weather Information for Development (WIND): Support Planning and Business Plan Development in 2010.
 * Pride Africa received $748,463 for "Making the Value Chain Work for Smallholder Farmers in Kenya" in 2009.
 * Professional Assistance for Development Action received $9,693,389 for Developing Farm-Based Livelihoods in Endemically Poor Regions of India in 2009.
 * Purdue University received $11,414,417 for Hermetic Storage for Cowpea in West and Central Africa in 2007.
 * Rainforest Alliance, Inc. received $5,277,660 for "New Business Models for Sustainable Trading Relationships" in 2007.
 * Root Capital Inc. received $10,000,000 for "Finance for Small and Growing Rural Businesses in Africa" in 2009.
 * Root Capital Inc. received $4,000,000 for Finance for Small and Growing Rural Businesses in Africa in 2009.
 * TechnoServe, Inc. received $8,000,000 for "Soy Value Chains: Linking Small-Scale Soy Producers to Industrial Feed Processors" in 2010.
 * TechnoServe, Inc. received $7,430,302 for "Increasing Farmer Incomes From Fruit in East Africa Through Integrated Interventions in Production and Processing" in 2009.
 * TechnoServe, Inc. received $46,955,200 for "Doubling Coffee Incomes in East Africa" in 2007.
 * TechnoServe, Inc. received $132,139 for "Soybean Productivity Enhancement in Southeast Rajasthan" in 2009.
 * The Green Belt Movement International received $110,000 for "Community Dam Projects in Semi-Arid Areas of Kenya" in 2008.
 * United Nations Development Program received $18,999,839 for "Expansion of Successful Poverty Reduction and Women's Empowerment Models in West Africa" in 2007.
 * United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS received $493,500 for Increase Smallholder Production Through Structured Demand in 2008.
 * United Nations World Food Program received $1,101,365 for "Local Procurement: A Double Benefit of Combating Maternal and Child Malnutrition and Enhancing Market Linkages for Smallholder Farmers" in 2009.
 * United Nations World Food Program received $66,131,200 for Purchase for Progress in 2009.
 * United Nations World Food Program received $1,100,848 for Home-Grown School Feeding in 2007.
 * University of Greenwich, Natural Resources Institute received $12,334,732 for Cassava: Adding Value for Africa (C:AVA) in 2008.
 * World Cocoa Foundation received $22,875,000 for Improving the Livelihoods of West African Smallholder Cocoa Farmers in 2009.
 * World University Service of Canada received $4,059,901 for African Farm Radio Research Initiative, Phase I in 2007.
 * World University Service of Canada received $3,995,720 for African Farm Radio Results Initiative, Phase II in 2010.
 * World Vision received $6,411,770 for "Raising the Incomes of Smallholder Farmers in the Central Highlands of Angola: A Model Project for Improv- ing Agricultural Value Chains in Post-Conflict Nations" in 2008.

Research and Development
A total of 45 Research and Development grants were funded, representing a total of $517,522,783 distributed by the Gates Foundation. The grants ranged in value from $150,000 to $45,000,000 with an average value of $11,500,506. Of the total distributed for these grants, $276,726,627 go toward 29 projects that do not involve genetic engineering and $240,796,156 goes toward 16 projects that do involve genetic engineering. R&D grants included in these numbers are as follows:

Non-Genetic Engineering:
 * The Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund received $482,063 for the Weather Surfaces: Agricultural Information System project.
 * The Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center received $12,083,990 for Vegetable Breeding and Seed Systems.
 * The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council received $8,000,000 for Sustainable Crop Production Research for International Development.
 * Catholic Relief Services received $21,876,316 for its Great Lakes Cassava Initiative.
 * The Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CITA) received $1,390,571 for Double Haploid Breeding for Cassava Enhancement.
 * The Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CITA) received $4,825,343 for Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Institute
 * The Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo received $5,800,000 for Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa – Phase I.
 * The Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo received $33,301,753 for Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa – Phase II
 * The Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo received $9,650,262 for Tropical Legumes I, Phase I
 * The Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo received $8,468,135 for Tropical Legumes I, Phase II
 * The Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo received $11,994,250 for Integrated Breeding Platform
 * The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences received $18,243,636 for Green Super Rice for the Resource-Poor of Africa and Asia.
 * Diagnostics for All received $1,988,318 for Point of Care Diagnostics in 2011
 * European Molecular Biology Laboratory received $478,458 for Wheat Rust Genomic Analysis to Enable Improved Crop Protection Strategies in 2010
 * Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung received $394,460 for Farmer 2 Farmer Learning in 2008
 * International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics received $18,000,000 for Harnessing Opportunities for Productivity Enhancement (HOPE) of Sorghum and Millets in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia in 2009
 * International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics received $20,480,000 for Tropical Legumes II in 2007.
 * The International Rice Research Institute received $19,896,653 for Stress-Tolerant Rice for Africa and South Asia (STRASA) in 2007.
 * The International Rice Research Institute received $19,593,513 for Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) in 2009.
 * Massachusetts Institute of Technology received $393,706 for Catalytic Reduction of Dinitrogen in 2009.
 * The Meridian Institute received $857,391 for Innovations for Soil Health in Africa and Asia in 2008.
 * The Meridian Institute received $1,794,802 for Innovations for Agricultural Value Chains in Africa: Applying Emerging Science and Technology to African Agricultural Value Chain Inefficiencies in 2009.
 * Social Profit Network received $294,671 for UV Milk Sterilization in 2008.
 * The Southern African NGO Network received $2,957,196 for Mobile Technology Solutions for Small-Scale Agriculture in Africa in 2010.
 * The United Nations Foundation received $29,911,740 for Securing the Biological Basis of Agriculture and Promoting Greater Use of Crop Genetic Resources in 2006.
 * The University of Arizona Foundation received $1,318,747 for Cassava Genomics: Bridging the Gap Between Sequence and Breeding Applications in 2009.
 * The University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. received $150,000 for Reducing Disease in Livestock in 2010.
 * The University of New England received $2,895,698 for Identifying Appropriate Germplasm and Delivery Mechanism in 2010.
 * Wageningen University received $19,204,955 for N2 Africa: Putting Nitrogen Fixation to Work for Smallholder Farmers in Africa in 2009.

Genetic Engineering:
 * The African Agricultural Technology Foundation received $37,758,829 for Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA)
 * The Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo received $17,309,632 for Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS)
 * Cornell University received $26,830,848 for Durable Rust Resistance in Wheat (DRRW), Phase I
 * Cornell University received $25,000,000 for Durable Rust Resistance in Wheat (DRRW), Phase II in 2011
 * Donald Danforth Plant Science Center received $5,157,560 for BioCassava Plus in 2011
 * Donald Danforth Plant Science Center received $5,345,895 for Biosafety Resource Network in 2008
 * The International Food Policy Research Institute received $45,000,000 for HarvestPlus II in 2009.
 * The International Food Policy Research Institute received $8,850,000 for HarvestPlus Bridge in 2007.
 * The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture received $2,424,683 for Cassava Brown Streak Disease Resistance in 2009.
 * The International Rice Research Institute received $8,787,000 for Golden Rice in 2011.
 * The International Rice Research Institute received $11,017,675 for C4 Rice in 2008.
 * Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute received $1,236,383 for Cassava Diagnostics Research Program in 2008.
 * The National Science Foundation received $24,000,000 for Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development in 2009.
 * The Regents of the University of California, Davis received $346,263 for Generation of Wheat Resistant to Multiple Rust Diseases Using RNAi in 2009.
 * The Shanghai Institute of Biological Sciences received $481,388 for C4 Rice in 2010.
 * The International Potato Center received $21,250,000 for Sweetpotato Action for Security and Health in Africa (SASHA) in 2009.

Not included in the above numbers are grants of $213,343 and $20,833,922 for Africa Biofortified Sorghum; a grant of $11,958,760 for ProVitaMinRice; grants of $4,753,705, $7,405,064, and $8,257,560 for BioCassava Plus; and grants of $3,946,708 and $4,489,552 for GE bananas, All of these grants are for GMOs.

C4 Rice Project
The C4 Rice Project is a project to achieve a genetically engineered variety of rice capable of C4 photosynthesis.


 * "Rice has what is known as a C3 photosynthetic pathway, less efficient than that of maize, which has a C4 pathway. Taking a lesson from evolution and converting a plant from C3 to C4 would involve a rearrangement of cellular structures within the leaves and more efficient expression of various enzymes related to the photosynthetic process. However, all the components for C4 photosynthesis already exist in the rice plant, but they are distributed differently and are not as active."

The project was initially funded by the Gates Foundation in October 2008 with a grant of $11,017,675 to the International Rice Research Institute "to increase yield by increase the photosynthetic efficiency of rice." In October 2010, the Gates Foundation gave the Shanghai Institute of Biological Sciences $481,388 "to support research that will guide the C4 rice project."

Durable Rust Resistance in Wheat
The Durable Rust Resistance in Wheat has so far received nearly $52 million from the Gates Foundation. Begun in 2008 and led by Cornell University, the project seeks to breed resistance to wheat stem rust into wheat.


 * January 2008: $26,830,848 "to develop improved rust resistant wheat varieties to protect resource-poor farmers."
 * February 2011: $25,000,000 "to develop improved rust-resistant wheat varieties to protect resource-poor farmers."

Water Efficient Maize for Africa
The Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) project of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation received the following grants:
 * The African Agricultural Technology Foundation received $37,758,829 in 2007.
 * University Health Network received $2,992,320 in 2008 to complete independent audits of the project.
 * Kansas State University received $498006 for "Measuring the Ex-Ante Impact of Water Efficient Maize for Africa" in 2009.
 * Total: $41,249,155

Training, Outreach, and Capacity Building
Grantees received a total of $140,245,072 in 47 grants for Training, Outreach, and Capacity Building projects. The grants ranged from $24,581 to $26,006,931 with an average value of $2,983,938.

Africa Biofortified Sorghum
In July 2005, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation gave Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International a grant of $20,833,922 "to develop nutritionally enhanced sorghum for the arid and semi-arid tropical areas of Africa" (Africa Biofortified Sorghum). The grant was for a term of 6 years. In November 2005, the gave Africa Harvest a second grant of $213,343 for the same purpose. The second grant had a term of 3 years. The total funding from the Gates Foundation from those two grants equals $21 million. The project received an additional $4 million in 2011 from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation given to DuPont and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center.

BioCassava Plus
According to one press release, the BioCassava Plus project has received the following grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation:
 * 2004: $7.5 million
 * 2008: $4.6 million
 * 2011: $8.3 million

However, according to the Gates Foundation's website, the foundation has funded the following grants related to enriched cassava:
 * July 2005: $4,753,705 to Ohio State University Research Foundation "to develop cassava germplasm enriched with bioavailable nutrients." Term: 5 years.
 * September 2008: $7,405,064 to the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center "to develop cassava germplasm enriched with bioavailable nutrients." Term: 3 years and 1 month.
 * November 2010: $8,257,560 to the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center "to support the development of high iron, protein, and proVitamin A cassava for Nigeria and Kenya." Term: 4 years.

Using either set of figures, the total amount given to this project is $20.4 million.

Additionally, in April 2011, the Gates Foundation gave $5,548,750 to the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center "to support work on Mosaic and Brown Streak resistant cassava, Africa's most devastating cassava diseases." The term of the grant was 5 years and 1 month.

Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA)
The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) received the following grants:
 * In June 2011, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) received $11,769,899 "to contribute to the institutional setup of the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency ("ATA") and support the ATA's program delivery aimed at accelerating Ethiopia's agricultural development, in line with the country strategy, growing the Ethiopian economy, and improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers."
 * In October 2011, Synergos Institute, Inc received $8,599,506 "to contribute the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (“ATA”) and support the ATA’s program delivery aimed at accelerating Ethiopia’s agricultural development, in line with the country strategy, growing the Ethiopian economy, and improving the livelihood of smallholder farmers."

Genetically Engineered Bananas
One effort to create GE Bananas is funded by the Gates Foundation and is being led by James L. Dale at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. The goal is to create "transgenic Cavendish bananas expressing either increased pro-vitamin A, vitamin E, or iron" and to introduce them to Uganda, where the average person consumes more than 1 kg of bananas each day.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation first funded a project with a grant of $3,946,708 to the Queensland University of Technology in July 2005 "to develop bananas with increased micronutrient content." They followed this up with a grant of $4,489,552, also to the Queensland University of Technology, in August 2009 "to improve the nutritional status in Uganda and surrounding countries through the generation of farmer and consumer acceptable edible bananas with significantly increased fruit levels of pro-vitamin A and iron." The total amount in grants equals $8.4 million.

ProVitaMinRice
In July 2005, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation gave Albert Ludwigs Universitat a grant of $11,958,760 "to improve the nutritious value of rice by genetic fortification with vitamins, minerals and proteins." In the project, Dr. Peter Beyer at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität in Freiburg, Germany is leading "an international, collaborative effort called the ProVitaMinRice Consortium." The group seeks to "stack multiple micronutrient and bioavailability traits into Golden Rice."


 * "The consortium's members are developing new varieties of rice with increased levels or bioavailability of pro-vitamin A, vitamin E, iron, and zinc as well improved protein quality and content. As their platform, the consortium's researchers are using Golden Rice, which has been genetically engineered to produce and accumulate pro-vitamin A in the grain, and are working with novel transgene-based technologies to enhance the availability of the target nutrients. The project plans to incorporate the new rice lines as well as Golden Rice into ongoing breeding and seed delivery programs for developing countries, and to make the products freely available to low-income farmers in the developing world."

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 * Gates Foundation Global Agriculture Grants
 * Gates Foundation Grants for Land Reform
 * Second Green Revolution
 * Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa
 * Chicago Council on Global Affairs
 * Using Hunger to Promote Genetic Engineering
 * Monsanto's Use of Humanitarian Projects to Open Global Markets to GMOs