We should apply programs that empower the people of developing countries to better feed themselves. Instead of food aid in crises, we should invest for the long haul in research that equips them to make decisions about agriculture that fit within their societies, environments and economies. It also will help them be intelligent shoppers for appropriate technologies that enable them to make progress. Today's situation is much more difficult than the problem the developed world solved in the Green Revolution. Population has doubled and will double again.
Technologies used in agriculture, including genetics and genomics, are controversial.
Today we understand the environmental damage caused by some of the very methods that were seen as solutions back then. And today we in the developed world lack the political will to invest in agricultural development for developing countries. For all of these reasons, we must look to philanthropic foundations and others of vision and means to step up to this challenge. These nations need strong public institutions for agriculture and significant additional investments in research. And they need access to the best and most appropriate technologies, from modern genetics to organic methods, to serve the needs of farmers and local entrepreneurs who will play the critical roles.