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NexThought Monday: Combining Commercial Opportunity With Environmental Sustainability
The greatest potential for productivity gains lies in the millions of small-scale farms in Africa, Latin America and Asia. But as the pressure grows to produce more food, unsustainable practices like slash-and-burn agriculture and excessive tilling of cropland threaten ecosystems and contribute to climate change.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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Opinion: Bill Gates’ Support of GM Crops is Wrong Approach for Africa
Bill Gates' support of genetically modified (GM) crops as a solution for world hunger is of concern to those of us involved in promoting sustainable, equitable and effective agricultural policies in Africa. There are two primary shortcomings to Gates' approach.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Bill Gates to UN: Find new ways to help poor farmers; announces $200 million in grants
ROME — Current approaches to global agriculture are outdated, inefficient and don’t give small farmers in poor countries the help they really need, Bill Gates told U.N. food agencies Thursday as he announced nearly $200 million in grants. The Microsoft founder brought his campaign to fight poverty and hunger in Africa and Asia to a forum of the U.N. International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), one of three Rome-based U.N. food agencies.Much of some $2 billion spent over the past five years to fight poverty and hunger in Africa and Asia by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has gone toward improving agricultural productivity.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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On World Day of Social Justice, the Role For Business
Jake Walter is the country director of TechnoServe/Mozambique. Since 1998, he has led TechnoServe’s efforts to create a competitive and sustainable commercial agricultural sector that promotes opportunities for small-scale producers and creates jobs for the rural poor. Prior to joining TechnoServe, Jake was a vice president for ABS Global, a bovine genetics and technology company.On the World Day of Social Justice, Jake discusses how TechnoServe’s work in Mozambique contributes to a stronger society, and how business can be a means to promote social justice.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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Between Multinational Buyers and Small Farmers, Root Capital Looks to Manage Growth
Willie Foote, founder and CEO of the social investment fund Root Capital, said it is poised for significant growth in the next five years. The challenge, he said, will be in managing that growth.Root expects to triple its portfolio in the next five years to $170 million and build credit up so that it can disburse $284 million in one year.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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Climate, Poverty, Gender, and the Spaces in Between
This past week in Nairobi, PopTech convened a diverse and illustrious group of innovators from technology, gender analysis, development, micro-insurance, mobile, water, agriculture and funding to have a conversation about community-based adaptation to climate change in rural Africa.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment
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Welcoming NextBillion’s Content Partners
Each of these organizations are recognized leaders in their arenas, from enterprise development to financial inclusion and education, from micro and small business lending to patient capital partnerships. While they may have differing missions, they all contribute financial support, expertise, and mind share - and usually combinations of all three - to the cause of poverty alleviation through enterprise.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing
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From Our Partners: TechnoServe – the Year Ahead
This is one in a series of articles featuring NextBillion’s 2012 Content Partners in which leaders offer their views on important trends impacting their work and new initiatives to alleviate poverty through market-based solutions. Today we hear from Simon Winter, TechnoServe’s senior vice president for development, who answers questions about TechnoServe’s direction in 2012.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Education
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