Bill Gates donates millions to Nigeria

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has earmarked $6m to support Nigeria’s push for food sustenance through the produc­tion of rice and cas­sava.

This was disclosed at the inauguration of the State Partnership for Agriculture by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and the Foundation.

Speaking at the event, the Deputy Di­rector, Bill and Melin­da Gates Foundation, James Nyoro said the move is to enable Ni­geria move from im­porter to exporter of food.

He disclosed that Kaduna, Benue and Kogi states have been picked to pilot the project.

“For us at the Bill and Melinda Founda­tion, the programme is going to be a catalytic in helping the Nige­rian government to achieve IRS vision for food security, reduce food imports and in­crease agriculture pro­ductivity so that they can raise many mil­lions of Nigerians out of poverty.

“Therefore, one of the areas we are going to help is state part­nership because we do know that action takes place at the state level.

That is where in­novations are tested, whether you are talk­ing about cassava pro­cessing and marketing or whether you are talking about rice.