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Microsoft co-founder and one of the world’s richest men Bill Gates was named as the “goodwill ambassador” of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).
Icrisat is a non-profit, non-political organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. It is based in Patancheru, Hyderabad.
Former Agriculture Secretary William Dar is the head of ICRISAT for how many years now.
Bill Gates said “ICRISAT crops are great – as they target millions of smallholder farmers globally.” Bill Gates is on world tour in behalf of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation helps developing countries rise from poverty.
“The dry lands are home to 644 million poorest of the poor, and highly nutritious, drought-tolerant crops such as grain legumes and dry land cereals are the best bets for smallholder farmers in these marginal environments to survive and improve their livelihoods,” William Dar said.
ICRISAT deputy director general for research Dr. David Hoisington highlighted the case of grain legumes and dryland cereals. “Chickpea, pigeonpea and groundnut are the ‘poor people’s meat’ – crucial for ending global malnutrition. Sorghum and millets provide food security to the poorest people,” he said.
Among ICRISAT and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s program are HOPE project (Harnessing Opportunities for Productivity Enhancement of Sorghum and Millets) in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, which seeks to increase by 30% the productivity of sorghum and millets in 200,000 farmers’ fields; and the Tropical Legumes I & II project, which aims to enhance productivity of six legume crops (groundnut, cowpea, common bean, chickpea, pigeonpea and soybean) by at least 20% through improved cultivars and management practices and the development of markets and value chains.
They target people who are most malnourished, food-insecure, and those unable to earn adequate incomes from agriculture.
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