Microsoft co-founder turned philanthropist Bill Gates on Thursday will unveil grants totalling 120 million dollars to promote dynamic, home-grown, sustainable agriculture in Africa and India. The grants, which will be made by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation working together with specialised agencies, will be announced by Gates in his keynote speech to the World Food Prize Symposium in Des Moines, Iowa later Thursday, his foundation said.
The funding will cover a bevy of projects including educating Africans about the benefits of growing certain crops such as legumes, which can be used to fertilise soil, and sweet potatoes, which when included in local diets can slash the incidence of Vitamin A deficiencies in children.
Others will create networks of expertise that give Africans greater autonomy when making agricultural policy decisions, or harness technology to help farmers. "Helping the poorest smallholder farmers grow more and get it to market is the world's single most powerful lever for reducing hunger and poverty," Gates said in a statement released ahead of his speech. Funding will be used to support development of local markets and connect them to schools.
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