New Gates grants for agriculture

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's new agriculture grants:

• $164.5 million to the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) to revitalize soils, boosting incomes of 4 million farmers through increases in crop yields

• $46.9 million to TechnoServe to help East African farmers double their incomes by improving coffee quality and reaching new buyers

• $42.8 million to Heifer International to help dairy farmers in East Africa double their incomes by improving quality of milk and farm productivity

• $27 million to International Development Enterprises (IDE) to increase farmer income in India by developing low-cost micro-irrigation systems and creating private-sector supply chains

• $19.8 million to the International Rice Research Institute to develop improved rice varieties that can withstand drought, flooding, salt and cold

• $5.2 million to CARE to help farmers in Bangladesh increase their incomes through better milk-production systems, including animal care, milk chilling and transportation