Bill Gates is planning to pump $40 million into a scheme to create a “super cow” that can produce more milk.
The Microsoft billionaire wants to take genes from British cattle and infuse them with DNA from African breeds to create a cow that can thrive anywhere.
British Holstein-Friesians produce 40 pints of milk a day on average while African cows can only make three and a half — but they can survive the heat and eat much less food.
Gates said: “Livestock is magical. You can sell the output and that’s money for school fees. You can keep the output and that’s diet diversification.”
“For more than a billion people living in the poorest countries, agriculture and livestock are a lifeline out of poverty. The science and research being led by the great minds here in Edinburgh are making huge strides in improving the health and productivity of livestock.”
Scientists at Edinburgh University will also use software to develop vaccines to save cows hit with disease in tropical regions in research partly funded by the Department for International Development.
Bill, worth an estimated $90 billion, added: “The impact per dollar is super-high in this area.”
“You can have a cow that is four times as productive with the same survivability. We could justify this on economic or health impacts — but we get both.”
The billionaire set up the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help rid the developing world of poverty.