Better seeds, improved livestock breeds, access to markets and tech-based agri services could hold the key for improving the lot of smallholder farmers and dairy farmers, according to Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

The vital ingredients of a recipe that can transform India’s economy includes inclusive growth to lift people out of poverty and produce enough nutritious food to support a healthy and well-educated labour force, he said.

He was addressing the valedictory of the three-day AP AgTech Summit 2017. The huge make-shift auditorium was packed in the afternoon as delegates occupied seats well before the valedictory began.

Bill Gates, who is a Co-Chair of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, felt that the country should focus on increasing the productivity of smallholder farmers and connect them to markets.

Need for better seeds To increase productivity, there is a need to develop better varieties of seeds that can offer improved yields and nutrition, while providing tolerance to stresses such as flooding, drought and other effects of climate change.

“Many smallholder farmers in India still use the varieties that are decades-old. They are not realising the benefits of newer, higher-yielding and more resilient seeds,” he pointed out.

Bill Gates said efforts are also needed to improve the productivity of the dairy sector as well. Stating that Indian dairy farmers are getting far less production than the potential, he pointed out that cross-bred cows could yield more than twice as much milk as the typical indigenous breed.

Recalling his first meeting with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu 20 years ago, Bill Gates said technology had evolved over a period of time, helping farmers reap the benefits of tech-based solutions in fintech and agriculture.

Citing the examples of farmers getting organised under producers’ organisations, he said farmers could increase their incomes if they became part of such associations.

CM’s request Chief Minister Naidu asked Bill Gates to work with the State government to develop a model for the tech-based agriculture, healthcare and sanitation.

“We will constitute a committee in which I will be the Chairman. I request you to be the Honorary Chairman,” Naidu told Bill Gates. He said a model thus evolved can be a role model for developing countries.

The Chief Minister said the State was focussing on expanding horticulture. “We now grow horticultural crops in about 40 lakh acres. We are planning to extend this to one crore acres,” he said.

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