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Heifer receives $42.8 million grant from Gates Foundation Saturday, Jan 26, 2008 Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Heifer International on Friday announced it had received a four-year, $42.8 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the largest single grant in Heifer's 63-year history. Bill Gates, co-chair of the foundation and chairman and co-founder of Microsoft Corp., announced the award as part of a package of agricultural development grants at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The grant will fund Heifer's East Africa Dairy Development Project, which will help poor rural farmers in East Africa double their incomes by increasing their production of high quality raw milk to sell to dairies, according to the nonprofit. Heifer estimates the project will help 1 million people, or 179,000 families, lift themselves out of poverty by developing 30 milk collection hubs with chilling plants where farmers will bring raw milk for pickup by commercial dairies. The project targets specific districts in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Farmer business associations will own and manage the chilling plants. Milk production will be increased through artificial insemination to improve local breeds of dairy cows through improved animal nutrition. |
