Rome (Reuters) – billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates said Thursday that the UN agencies fighting against hunger are ineffective and urged its leaders to set new targets, redirecting its resources and rely on technology to further progress.
Microsoft founder noted that three Rome-based agencies should set a goal to raise agricultural productivity and to introduce a system to qualify to the States for their efforts to reduce poverty.
“Global agriculture and food system is obsolete and inefficient,” Gates told a Conference at the International Fund for agricultural development (IFAD for its acronym in English).
“Countries, food agencies and donors not are working together in a focused and coordinated way to offer the help they need small producers, at the time they need,” he added.
The Organization of the UN for agriculture and food (FAO), which in the past was accused of having problems with transparency, and weak leadership must ensure that individual country programmes will lead to improvements, noted Gates.
A point system in which countries are qualified in areas as seed development and education of farmers could help, added.
Gates said that he hoped that the new leader of the FAO, Jose Graziano da Silva, who took office in January, address general criticisms, reallocate resources and reduce bureaucracy.
The volatility of prices and the economic slowdown could increase the number of people at risk of hunger in the world. In 2010, the FAO estimated that number at up to 925 million people.
The global crisis in the prices of food in 2008 has highlighted the years of chronic disinvestment in the agricultural sector in developing countries.
Gates appealed to the IFAD, FAO and the World Food Programme (WFP) to take advantage of new technologies as the science of the genome, which has facilitated the creation of seeds.
Also said that satellite data collection is a good alternative to freeing people that can dedicate to other important works.
The foundation of Gates, which is devoted mainly to finance health projects in developing countries, launched its program of agriculture in 2006.
Thursday announced additional subsidies amounting to $ 200 million, bringing the total commitment of the Foundation for smallholders to more than two billion dollars.
