FMF: Seeds of Hope Press Conference

The Free Market Foundation of Southern Africa is hosting a press conference for journalists, policymakers, and other stakeholders interested in poverty alleviation to announce the launch of our third study on enterprise-based solutions to poverty in Africa, Seeds of Hope: Agricultural Technologies and Poverty Alleviation in Rural Africa.

Despite tremendous worldwide economic progress over the past 50 years, hunger and food insecurity remain the daily reality for millions of people around the world. In Africa alone, millions struggle against the ravages of hunger. What can be done to relieve these burdens? The traditional strategy has been to look to government aid for relief. And yet, in countries where corruption is rampant, where it is difficult or impossible to deliver food and other aid, or where fighting interferes with the movement of aid and aid workers, this solution too often fails.

Critics of globalization argue that it is implausible to expect the profit-driven private sector to address such needs. This study examines how the Combi-Pack, an innovative product created by the Monsanto Company, is helping to chase away hunger.