Major International Research Initiative Launched to Improve Food Security for Developing Countries - Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

SWINDON, England -- Major International Research Initiative Launched to Improve FooIn a unique and important move to harness science to improve food security for millions of people in the developing world, research funders from the UK and USA and government departments in the UK and India have today (11 January) announced a new £20M/$32M joint research initiative.

The new initiative will fund teams from the UK, India and developing countries to work on research projects to improve the sustainability of vital food crops. The research will particularly investigate ways to improve the disease-resistance and stress-tolerance of staple crops in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Funding will be awarded to teams that can show that their research can improve food security and increase sustainable crop yields within the next 5-10 years.

To read the full press release, visit the BBSRC web site.