Building an alliance for a green revolution in Africa.

Most of Africa's people live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. These predominantly small-scale farmers face many challenges, including food insecurity, rising poverty, and natural resource degradation. To increase the productivity, profitability, and sustainability of their farms, they need greater access to affordable yield-enhancing inputs, including well-adapted seeds and new methods for integrated soil fertility management, as well as to output markets where they can convert surplus production into cash.

Advances in plant biotechnology and its adoption in developing countries.

Developing countries are already benefiting and should continue to benefit significantly from advances in plant biotechnology. Insect-protected cotton containing a natural insecticide protein from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt cotton) is providing millions of farmers with increased yields, reduced insecticide costs and fewer health risks. Many other useful plant biotechnology products that can benefit poor farmers and consumers are in the research and development pipelines of institutions in developing countries, and should soon reach farmers' fields.

Crop genetic improvement for enhanced human nutrition.

In the past decade, micronutrient malnutrition has been identified as a major underlying cause of numerous human health problems in developing countries. The international agricultural research system has been highly successful in producing crop varieties with traits desired by farmers, such as higher yield and greater tolerance of poor growing conditions. These improved varieties have spread widely throughout developing countries and now provide the staple foods eaten daily by billions of people, including the poor in many difficult to reach rural areas.