Billionaire Bill Gates’ philanthropic efforts are usually well received around the world because, after all, his heart is in the right place. But he has apparently stepped on the leftist government of Bolivia’s toes.
Gates was told in no uncertain terms to study up on the South American nation’s poultry sector, which by the way, is doing quite well, thank you, according to The Guardian.
“How can he think we are living 500 years ago, in the middle of the jungle not knowing how to produce?” the Bolivian development minister, César Cocarico, told journalists. “Respectfully, he should stop talking about Bolivia.”
Cocarico also described Bill Gates’ chicken philanthropy, called Coop Dreams, as “offensive,” and demanded he should “apologize.” It could be that Bolivia’s development minister doesn’t like his country being described as “impoverished.” But Bolivia was one of the countries earmarked to receive the hens, along with many Sub-Saharan countries.
As for Bolivia’s chicken industry, the country is doing quite well, with production at about 197 million chickens annually. Of that number, around 36 million are shipped to other nations, according to a report from the Bolivian Institute of Foreign Trade. And while Cocarico may be right saying the country “knows how to produce,” he can’t account for the fact that 45 percent of Bolivians are living below the poverty level.
Bill and Melinda Gates are true believers in self-sufficiency, and Gates is not afraid to say he really is “excited about chickens” and what a cheap investment they can be for a family living in poverty. Gates says, “it’s pretty clear to me that just about anyone who’s living in extreme poverty is better off if they have chickens.” He cites how inexpensive chickens can be, their easy maintenance and the returns a family can get on their investment.
He, along with his wife, also believe that chickens can empower women because being small animals, they stay close to home. In many societies, they are considered a woman’s animal. Gates adds that women who sell chickens are likely to reinvest the profits in their families.
In his blog post, Gatesnotes, he writes, “When I was growing up, chickens weren’t something you studied, they were something you made silly jokes about. It has been eye-opening for me to learn what a difference they can make in the fight against poverty. It sounds funny, but I mean it when I say that I am excited about chickens.”
