Former Microsoft Chief executive and founder, Bill Gates, has launched a campaign that targets the extremely poor families in sub-Saharan Africa by giving them chickens.
The Global philanthropist believes that raising and selling the birds can be efficient to tackle extreme poverty.
He has promised to donate 100,000 chickens, and the project’s page has already been shared thousands of times.
According toThe United Nations, 41% of people in sub-Saharan Africa live in extreme poverty.
Bill Gates calculation is based on a hypothetical farmer breeding five hens that would yield earn more than $1,000 a year. The poverty line is about $700
Bill Gates said, at the launch of the campaign in New York, “These chickens are multiplying on an ongoing basis so there’s no investment that has a return percentage anything like being able to breed chickens.”
This is a commendable idea from Mr. Gates, however, looking at the effort with a critical lens, access to chickens or the local hen is not the primary problem of a poor African farmer. The real issue that need to be addressed is enabling environment to raise those chickens both on a subsistence and commercial level.
If I were living in extreme poverty, I’d want to raise chickens. Here’s why: https://t.co/sTYQisFKd9 pic.twitter.com/7HJz2O6Au7
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) June 9, 2016
Giving away 100,000 chickens in an effort to alleviate poverty is a noble gesture in itself. But the plan throws up a few questions.
Given out 100,000 chickens is a laudable venture, but providing farmers the means of raising these chickens and thus generate revenue will go a long way in alleviating their poverty level.
Having a large supply chickens on the market by an inexperienced farmer without adequate training could be counter-productive. Simple demand/supply economics suggests the average price of a chicken would fall.
According to the BBC, The US, the European Union and Brazil have been accused of selling (dumping) chickens into African markets at prices way below what local farmers can afford to sell them for. Product dumping simply destroys local production and leads to job loss.
We welcome Mr. Gates laudable and philanthropic venture, both more investments should be directed to the resources those target farmers will need to raise the chickens.
