Rome (dpa) – Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and US high-tech billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates were set to discuss climate change issues affecting agriculture at a United Nations conference that began Wednesday in Rome. The two-day event was being hosted by the Rome-based UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Kagame and Monti were scheduled to speak later in the day, while Gates' address was due on Thursday, the closing day of the conference. During the event, representatives from IFAD's 167 member states were expected to focus on ways that smallholder farmers – particularly in developing countries – could help lead the way in adopting “climate smart” agriculture, IFAD said. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/fRZJM Tags: Climate Change, Farming, Rome, UN Section: Environment, Going Green