The Gates Foundation has announced a four-year, $1.4 billion investment to support smallholder farmers across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia adapt to extreme weather.
The announcement, at COP30 in Belém, will help farmers ‘build resilience to a warming world and protect hard-won gains against poverty’, the Foundation said in a statement.
As it noted, food security and livelihoods in these regions is highly dependant on agriculture, yet smallholder farmers in both regions are among the most exposed to droughts, floods, and rising temperatures. Currently, less than 1% of global climate finance is allocated to protecting smallholder farmers in these regions.
‘Toughest conditions’
“Smallholder farmers are feeding their communities under the toughest conditions imaginable,” commented Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation. “We’re supporting their ingenuity with the tools and resources to help them thrive – because investing in their resilience is one of the smartest, most impactful things we can do for people and the planet.”
Farmers in low-income countries produce around one third of the world’s food but face mounting climate threats – as recent World Bank research found, targeted adaptation investments in these regions could boost GDP by up to 15 percentage points by 2050.
Also, the World Resources Institute noted recently that every dollar invested in climate adaptation will yield more than $10 in social and economic benefits within a decade.
‘Economic and moral imperative’
“Climate adaptation is not just a development issue – it’s an economic and moral imperative,” added Mark Suzman, CEO of the Gates Foundation. “This new commitment builds on our support for farmers in Africa and South Asia who are already innovating to withstand extreme weather. But they can’t do it alone – governments and the private sector must work together to prioritise adaptation alongside mitigation.”
The Gates Foundation intends to collaborate with governments, research institutions, and private-sector partners to deliver the new commitment, with partners already announced including Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, Embrapa, AGRA, CGIAR, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa. Read more here.
