Gates funding plan to produce higher-yielding rice

A project to re-engineer photosynthesis in rice, led by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) through a global consortium of scientists, has received a grant of US$11 million over three years from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The group, the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), is researching the production of rice plants that can produce 50 per cent more grain using less fertilizer and less water. CSISA’s goal is to produce an additional 5 million tonnes of grain per year and increase the income of over 6 million farmers.

Source
Ethical Insight, 15-28 January 2009

ADB to increase capital to assist developing nations during crisis

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) plans to increase its capital up to threefold from the current 5 trillion yen to step up its assistance to developing countries during the growing global financial crisis, according to what Japan’s Jiji Press and Factiva call informed sources. The fresh capital will come from the ADB's shareholder nations, the biggest of whom are Japan and the US, with shares of 15.6 per cent each in the bank.

GAVI to sell bonds to fund child vaccinations

The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) is to sell bonds in Japan with higher-than-average yields to help fund a programme that provides vaccinations to children in poor nations, Bloomberg.com reports. GAVI, which was co-founded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, hopes to raise as much as $500 million by selling the three-year uridashi bonds this month, twice as much as its previous issue last March, when it raised $223 million in Japan selling uridashi bonds denominated in South African rand.

For more information
http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/15016527/story