The Gates Foundation on Friday announced a new four-year, $1.4 billion investment commitment to help smallholder farmers build resilience against climate change.
The announcement - aimed at farmers across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where many livelihoods as well as food security depend on local agriculture - comes as world leaders gather in Belem, Brazil, for Cop30.
As the world grows warmer, smallholder farmers and the communities they feed are among the most exposed to droughts, floods and other disasters, but only 1 per cent of global climate finance targets this growing threat, the Gates Foundation said in a release.
"Smallholder farmers are feeding their communities under the toughest conditions imaginable," said Bill Gates, head 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.”
Bill Gates addresses the annual Goalkeepers NYC sustainability event, hosted by the Gates Foundation at the Lincoln Centre in New York City. AFP
Farmers in low-income countries produce one-third of the world's food but face mounting climate threats, the Gates Foundation said.
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