‘Respectfully, he should stop talking about Bolivia,’ development minister said about billionaire’s offer despite South American nation’s thriving poultry sector

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The Bolivian government has rejected a donation of hens offered by the US billionaire Bill Gates, as officials said the tech magnate needs to study up on the Andean nation’s thriving poultry sector.

“How can he think we are living 500 years ago, in the middle of the jungle not knowing how to produce?” the Bolivian development minister, César Cocarico, told journalists. “Respectfully, he should stop talking about Bolivia.”

The Microsoft founder and philanthropist recently said he would donate 100,000 hens to countries with high poverty levels, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa but including Bolivia.

Bolivia produces 197m chickens annually and has the capacity to export 36m, the local poultry producing association said.

