Rice has a “yield barrier” because of the nature of its photosynthetic process. IRRI and its partners are seeking to install a more efficient photosynthetic pathway – C4 – in rice to increase production. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), and IRRI have funded the C4 rice project’s second phase for $14million over 3 years. C4 rice, if successfully developed, has the potential to produce 50% more grain with less water and nutrients, which would contribute to future food security. The C4 rice research is seen as long-term scientific endeavor that seeks to help secure food for majority of the world’s population.