I believe innovation is the most powerful force for change in the world. People who are pessimistic about the future tend to extrapolate from the present in a straight line. But innovation fundamentally shifts the trajectory of development.
Let me give two examples. For years, farmers in poor countries have lacked the tools to get the most out of their land, so their yields are very low compared to those in rich countries. But innovation can close that gap. A few months ago, I visited farmers in a flood-prone area of India where crops are regularly wiped out by standing water. When I visited, they were planting a new variety of rice that has been bred to survive underwater. When the rains came, the old variety was completely destroyed, while the new rice yielded more than double what the old variety yielded in a good harvest year. The demand for new seeds from this rice project has been even higher than expected. In the next six years, we predict 20 million farmers will plant the new varieties.
Just over a decade ago, malaria was tearing through poor countries, killing about 1 million children every year. The most common treatment, chloroquine, was no longer effective. Now, there are new drugs and new longlasting, insecticide-treated bed nets. These innovations, combined with an influx of funding, have turned the tide against the disease. Malaria deaths are down 20 percent globally in just 10 years. We also have a malaria vaccine in late-stage trials. If and when it’s approved, it will be the first-ever vaccine against a parasitic disease.
These are just two examples of the huge benefit of innovation in upstream research and development, and also in how to deliver these innovations to the people who can benefit most. Despite examples of success and the enormous potential, innovation has not played as big a role in development as it could have. Some innovations take hold in rich countries quickly but take decades to trickle down to poor countries. The pace of innovation specifically for the poor has been too slow. But I believe it can be sped up, and the rapidly growing countries of the G20 are especially well-positioned to drive this improvement.