Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, yesterday, in Cairo, Egypt, echoed African leaders’ calls for countries to rapidly scale-up finance for climate adaptation and pledged to invest $1.4 billion to help smallholder farmers address the immediate and long-term impacts of climate change.
The announcement was made by Gates Foundation boss, Mark Suzman at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27).
The Foundation said for many regions, climate change is a food and economic crisis without precedent.
“More than two billion people depend on smallholder farms for food and income, yet less than 2% of global climate finance is devoted to helping these farms adapt to climate change. Food and economic crises will last longer and become more severe as climate threats escalate and further threaten food security by limiting smallholder farmers’ yields
and resilience,” a statement released by the Foundation and made available to newsmen read.
“The effects of climate change have already been devastating, and every moment the world delays action, more people suffer, and the solutions become more complex
and costly,” said Suzman.
“Our commitment will help smallholder farmers adapt today and build resilience for the future. It is essential for this climate summit to produce bold commitments that address immediate and long-term needs.
“Leaders must listen to the voices of African farmers and governments to understand their priorities and respond with urgency,” he added
He said the Foundation’s commitment will fund immediate action and long-term initiatives over four years to help smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia build resilience and food security.
According to him, funding will focus on spurring African-led innovation to build a pipeline of climate-smart agriculture projects, new applications of digital technologies, climate-smart innovations for smallholder livestock farming, and support for women smallholder farmers to capitalise on their untapped potential.
“Women in rural Africa are the backbone of their food systems, but they have never had equal access to the resources they need to reach their full potential or build resilience to looming climate threats,” said Melinda French Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“As the climate crisis accelerates, women’s vital role in their economies is too important to overlook.
With the right financing and marketing support,
women smallholder farmers could earn more in a day than they currently earn in a month, ultimately transforming these regional food systems and unlocking a healthier, more sustainable, and more prosperous future for families and communities across the continent,” Gates noted.
“The climate crisis is causing enormous harm every day as it jeopardizes entire regions of people and economies,” said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“More funding is necessary to ensure agricultural and technological innovations are widely available to vulnerable communities, helping them to adapt to climate change, save lives and increase economic growth,” she said.