April 2, 2008 Cornell University to Lead Broad Global Partnership to Combat Wheat Rust Disease and Protect Resource-Poor Farmers

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University today announced a $26.8 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to launch a broad-based global partnership to combat a deadly wheat disease that poses an enormous threat to global food security. The Durable Rust Resistance in Wheat project will bring together 15 partner institutions to combat the emergence of deadly new variants of stem rust that can spread quickly, reducing healthy wheat to broken, shriveled stems. The partners will focus on developing improved rust resistant wheat varieties to protect resource-poor farmers and consumers from catastrophic crop losses in vulnerable regions, particularly India, but also Pakistan, East Africa, China, the Middle East, and North Africa.

To read the full press release, visit the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Web site.

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Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.