WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Some of the world's poorest people could increase their supply of a food staple and improve their region's economic standing thanks to a Purdue University research and extension education effort funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
With a one-time cost estimated at a little more than $3 per household, farmers in West and Central Africa will learn how to better protect cowpeas, an important food and cash crop, and increase their household income on average about $150 per year. The foundation awarded $11.4 million to Purdue Agriculture to help people in 10 African nations safely store the crop.