$1.4 billion latest Gates contribution backs smallholder farmers battling climate change
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a new $1.4 billion, four-year commitment to help smallholder farmers adapt to the accelerating impacts of climate change.
Unveiled at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the initiative aims to enhance resilience among farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, regions where agriculture underpins food security and livelihoods but remains particularly vulnerable to droughts, floods, and extreme heat.
Despite their crucial role—producing approximately one-third of the world’s food—less than 1% of global climate finance supports the adaptation needs of these farmers.
“Smallholder farmers are feeding their communities under the toughest conditions imaginable,” said Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation.
“We’re supporting their ingenuity with 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.”
The commitment builds on Gates’ vision of targeting climate investments for maximum human impact, advancing the foundation’s broader goal of helping millions escape poverty by 2045.
It comes amid growing concern over a widening global adaptation funding gap.
According to the World Bank, strategic investments in resilience could boost GDP by up to 15 percentage points in some developing economies by 2050.
Meanwhile, the World Resources Institute estimates that every dollar spent on adaptation yields over $10 in social and economic returns within a decade.
“Climate adaptation is not just a development issue—it’s an economic and moral imperative,” said 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 prioritize adaptation alongside mitigation.”
The foundation’s investment will scale evidence-based innovations already transforming rural livelihoods.
These include digital advisory platforms, such as mobile apps and SMS tools, which provide farmers with real-time climate and planting advice—part of the AIM for Scale initiative, which aims to reach 100 million farmers across Africa, Asia, and Latin America by 2030.
It will also support the development of climate-resilient crops and livestock and fund soil health research through a $30 million partnership with the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
These efforts build on partnerships launched at previous climate summits. AIM for Scale, introduced in 2023, has already delivered AI-powered weather alerts to nearly 40 million farmers across India during the 2025 monsoon season.
Another program, led by TomorrowNow and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), has reached over 5 million Kenyan farmers with hyper-local weather information and is expanding into Tanzania, Malawi, and Zambia.
“We’ve seen what’s possible when smallholder farmers have access to the right tools and resources—they adapt faster than anyone,” said Wanjeri Mbugua, CEO of TomorrowNow.
“With the right investment and strong partnerships, we can put powerful, data-driven solutions directly in farmers’ hands so they can make informed decisions and build resilience on their own terms.”
The announcement underscores the shared global commitment—championed by African leaders and Brazil’s COP30 presidency—to place food systems, livelihoods, and health at the heart of resilience planning.
In collaboration with Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Embrapa, AGRA, CGIAR, AIM for Scale, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, and the United Arab Emirates, the foundation will co-host the Agricultural Innovation Showcase at COP30.
The event, which featured a high-level dialogue and exhibition, spotlighted affordable, farmer-designed, climate-smart solutions from around the world.
The Gates Foundation, based in Seattle and led by CEO Mark Suzman under the direction of Bill Gates and the foundation’s governing board, continues to pursue its mission to help all people lead healthy, productive lives and ensure equal opportunity for those with the fewest resources.