Heifer International in Little Rock, Arkansas, has announced an $8.5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in support of its East Africa Dairy Development project.

The grant will enable the organization to continue funding existing projects in Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda, as well as explore possibilities for expansion into Ethiopia and Tanzania. EADD aims to help 179,000 smallholder farmer families — an estimated one million people — lift themselves out of poverty by sustainably improving dairy productivity and efficiency; doubling their household income; and building, connecting, and expanding local dairy market infrastructure.

Launched in 2008 as a four-year, $42.8 million project funded by the Gates Foundation in partnership with TechnoServe, the International Livestock Research Institute, World Agroforestry Centre, and Africa Breeders Services Total Cattle Management, EADD has earned farming families more than $35 million since its inception.

"We are excited for the opportunity to continue serving dairy farming families," said Elizabeth Bintliff, vice president of Heifer International's Africa area program, "and grateful to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for their support."