Source: MEATINGPLACE, 6/13/16

Bill Gates believes chicken farming can be a path out of extreme poverty for rural families living in sub-Saharan Africa, and he’s working with a global nonprofit organization on a project that aims to help people start flocks, the Microsoft co-founder told People magazine. 

The world’s wealthiest man discussed the economics of raising chickens in a blog, noting they are a good investment and can help fight malnutrition, which kills more than 3.1 million children a year.  

Gates is working with nonprofit Heifer International to donate 100,000 chickens to people in 12 different countries and provide training on how to raise them, he told People. The aim is to help start a “livestock revolution,” boosting the percentage of rural families raising vaccinated chickens in the region from 5 percent to 30 percent, Gates said.

Gates also has been an investor in the alternative meat movement, as more consumers look to diversify their protein sources.

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