Bill Gates to donate chickens to Africa’s poor
Friday, June 10, 2016
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Bill Gates is launching his latest scheme to help sub-Saharan Africans living in extreme poverty: he’s giving them chickens.
Gates will donate 100,000 birds vaccinated against common diseases under a program he said would boost incomes because chickens are inexpensive to care for, a good investment and help provide nutrition for children.
“If I were living in extreme poverty, I’d want to raise chickens,” the Microsoft founder and billionaire philanthropist said on his Twitter feed on Thursday.
Gates said a farmer starting with five hens could earn $1,000 a year, compared with the extreme poverty line of $700 a year. Eventually Gates wants to help 30 percent of rural African families raise chickens, up from 5 percent now.
Source: Business Insider (link opens in a new window)
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