Tambuwal Seeks to Partner Bill Gates in Agric

Sokoto state government has sought for a partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for the development of agriculture and related sectors in the state.

“We appreciate your efforts in improving healthcare delivery in Sokoto state in particular in Nigeria as a whole. I want to inform you that the potential inherent in agric sector in Sokoto is enormous. We seek partnership with you to modernise the sector and improve the earnings of our farmers,” the state Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, said during a video conference with Mr. Gates to assess the progress of Routine Immunisation in Sokoto.

The immunisation programme is funded by the Gates, Dangote Foundation and the United Stated Agency for International Development (USAID).

According to Tambuwal, with more than 85 percent of Sokoto’s population engaged in one form of agricultural activity or another, the partnership will create value for all parties and ensure rapid development of local farmers in the state.

Agricultural development is one of the largest initiatives of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. To date, the Foundation has committed more than US$2 billion to agric development efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

In June this year, Gates launched a campaign to help extremely poor families in sub-Saharan Africa by giving them 100,000 chickens.

According to him, raising and selling the birds can be efficient to tackle extreme poverty.

Speaking on efforts to boost immunisation in Sokoto, Tambuwal assured the development partners that Sokoto government will meet its funding obligation, while a new data centre will be opened in the state ministry of health to ease collection and processing of data for proper planning.