$25m Gates Gift to Gm Project Under Fire

Bill Gates is to donate at least $25m (£14.95m) to research into whether GM food can provide 840 million malnourished people with extra vitamins and micro-nutrients.

But the first move by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest private philanthropic organisation, into controversial food biotechnology for developing countries was yesterday criticised by development groups which said the research was "scientifically unnecesary".

The Gates foundation, which has been praised for its generosity to Aids and malaria research, is to channel what is expected to be a first tranche of money through several publicly-owned international science research groups. The 10-year programme aims to "bio-fortify" - add nutrients and vitamins - to staple crops, including beans, wheat, cassava, maize, rice and sweet potatoes.

The project will combine conventional and GM techniques. Almost 3 billion people suffer from iron deficiencies in their diet, 127 million pre-school children lack vitamin A, and 4.4 million people have eye damage or blindness caused by lack of vitamins.

An umbrella group, Harvest Plus, will run the programme with the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (Ciat) and the International Food Policy Research Institute.

The project brings together the US Department of Agriculture and several of its research arms, the World Bank, and the US food aid programme, which distributes GM food to the world's poorest. A committee has also been set up which includes major GM companies.

Sue Meyer, of Genewatch, said: "This is a Trojan horse to make GM foods acceptable to poor countries." Patrick Mulvaney, of Intermediate Technology, said: "Mr Gates is investing in hi-tech solutions for a serious problem that could be solved by investing in proven methods."

David Fleming, of the Gates Foundation, argued that the programme had the potential "to dramatically improve the lives of poor children and their families who depend largely upon these staples for their diets". Joachim Voss, director general of Ciat, said he was aware that GM companies might try to take advantage of the public science that would be done. "If it is not for the public good then we're not interested. We are determined not to be abused by private companies," he said.