PM responds to chicken, egg propaganda

ISLAMABAD: The Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday cited the poultry initiative taken by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to silence those criticising him on his ‘chicken formula’ for implementation in Pakistan.

The premier took to social networking website Twitter and wrote, “For the colonised minds, when ‘desis talk about chickens combating poverty they get mocked but when ‘walaitis’ talk about desi chicken and poverty it’s brilliance.”

Earlier, during an address in a ceremony related to the government’s 100 days, PM Imran said he will give eggs and chickens to rural women so they can start their own poultry business. He said the project was tested and the government will also ensure to provide injections to them for raising the chickens faster.

In 2016, Bill Gates said a farmer starting with five hens could earn $1,000 a year, compared with the extreme poverty line of $700 a year. Eventually Gates wants to help 30 percent of rural African families raise chickens, up from 5 percent. Gates’ wife Melinda, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said breeding chickens can also empower women by giving them a source of income, which they are more likely than men to spend on education and healthcare.

Gates acknowledged that some might scoff at the plan, but insisted that he believes it will have an impact. “It sounds funny,” Gates wrote on the project’s website. “But I mean it when I say that I am excited about chickens.”