US agribusiness launches charity campaign

Cargill Inc, the US-based agricultural and industrial conglomerate, partnering with Heifer International, has launched a program aimed at improving the lives of more than 450 smallholder farmers in Qingshen county in Southwest China's Sichuan province.

Cargill donated 1.72 million yuan ($250,000) to Heifer, a US-based charity organization with a focus on easing hunger and poverty, to start the Qingshen Sustainable Livelihoods and Community Holistic Development Project.

Under the project, 150 small-scale farmers will receive 100 baby chicks each, with the aim that as these farmers grow their own broods, each of them will be asked to pass on 100 chicks to other smallholder farmers. By the end of the project in 2020, the goal is to assist 450 smallholder farmer households.