Malaria-free Asia-Pacific is within reach
the Asia Pacific region, of the 48 countries, 20 still have endemic malaria, and aggressive and targeted interventions in these countries can end malaria.
The Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, Fisheries and Animal Resources Development, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) to advance their partnership to support sustainable and inclusive agriculture transformation.
The move is to strengthen agricultural programmes by accessing expertise, technology, and high-impact innovations and bring sustainable production.
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Food quality improvement, reducing vulnerability to drought, pest, and other climate-related risk through advanced soil and water resource management avenues will open up, said official sources.
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Gates Foundation will also support accelerating data use and policy implementation to build a vibrant, climate-smart, and integrated farming economy to serve marginal and landless farmers of the state.
Minister, Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment, Fisheries & ARD, and Higher Education Arun Kumar Sahoo said the state government has adopted an integrated approach to manage farmland, livestock, forests, and fisheries that address the interlinked challenges of food security and climate change.
Reiterating the Government’s commitment to the quality of life of our farmers, especially landless labourers, smallholders, and women, he hoped the partnership with the Gates Foundation will bring in the best global practices, state-of-the-art technology, and innovations for the improvement, empowering the farmers with information and partnership services.
Alkesh Wadhwani, Director, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said, the foundation will catalyze and move forward multi-stakeholder partnerships and innovations that drive nutritional security, environmental sustainability, climate adaptation, and economic opportunity, in an integrated and inclusive way for smallholder agriculture.
It will continue supporting the government by bringing solutions and expertise to address their most challenging issues, he assured.
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