Home

Gates Foundation to partner with MSU in developing countries

By Ike Val Iyioke

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is joining with Michigan State to talk about the future needs and priorities of developing countries in an upcoming workshop in Seattle in April.

This partnership comes courtesy of months of discussions between Jeff Riedinger, acting dean of International Studies and Programs, and Rajiv Shah, director of the Gates Foundation’s Agricultural Development and Financial Services for the Poor.

“I am excited about this emerging partnership and the opportunity to make the expertise of our faculty and that of our partner institutions in Africa and elsewhere available to the Gates Foundation staff as they plan their global development program,” Riedinger said. “I expect that this will be the first of many opportunities for such dialogue.”

The two sides plan to build on more than 50 years of Michigan State history and vision for international problem-solving engagement. The partnership also comes at a time when the foundation’s emerging major emphasis is on agriculture development to reduce poverty in developing countries. It points to the foundation’s learning curve on issues of international development beyond health, including financial services for the poor, water sanitation, hygiene, education and urban planning.

The April 25-27 workshop will feature experts from among MSU faculty and the university’s myriad domestic and international partner institutions.

The workshop will connect the literature and data on agricultural development practice, policy and theory, with particular emphasis given to conceptual approaches, policies and practices that produce successes that are scalable and adaptable.

As an internationally engaged land-grant and public university with a long history of international partnerships, MSU has a wealth of experience and expertise regarding conceptual frameworks, policies and practices that promote agricultural development.

MSU and other land-grant universities also have a strong record in strengthening local capacity to conceptualize, design and implement such programming, Riedinger said. These insights will be of service to the activities of the Gates Foundation and its efforts to call broader attention to key issues in international development.

The workshop will include a series of discussion-intensive sessions so that all attending members of the Gates Foundation staff participate in and benefit from a common set of discussions.

Workshop topics will focus on promoting agricultural development, including understanding soil fertility and farmer productivity; considering innovations in extension, research and training; linking farmers to improved and equitable markets; and changing policy frameworks.