The Gates Foundation, led by billionaire Bill Gates, has announced a commitment to invest $1.4 billion over four years to support farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia who face significant challenges from climate change and whose livelihoods are dependent on agriculture.
Sustaining regional well-being and global food stability relies heavily on supporting these agricultural workers. Given that these low-resourced nations produce one-third of the global food supply, any disruption to their farming could trigger widespread international consequences.
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“Smallholder farmers are feeding their communities under the toughest conditions imaginable,” Gates said a news release.
“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.”
The $1.4 billion investment by the Gates Foundation will focus on three key areas. Firstly, it will fund digital advisory services, including mobile applications and SMS tools, to provide farmers with essential guidance and risk management information, as stated in the news release. Secondly, the foundation will supply climate-resilient crops.
Finally, a $30 million partnership with the Novo Nordisk Foundation will be used to restore degraded land and reduce emissions. To guarantee the success of these initiatives, the foundation will collaborate with local researchers, governments, and private-sector partners.
“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,” Suzman continued.
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Wanjeri Mbugua, CEO of TomorrowNow, said, “We’ve seen what’s possible when smallholder farmers have access to the right tools and resources — they adapt faster than anyone. 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 Gates Foundation’s new commitment builds upon partnerships that were expanded from its COP27 pledges and are already reaching millions of farmers, the news release said. A key initiative is the global partnership “AIM for Scale,” launched in 2023. It provided nearly 40 million farmers across 13 Indian states AI-powered SMS weather forecasts during the 2025 monsoon season, helping protect millions of acres of crops.
In collaboration with TomorrowNow and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), another initiative was launched to provide hyper-local weather alerts to over 5 million Kenyan farmers. This project is designed to enhance yields and minimize crop losses, and is currently expanding to Tanzania, Malawi, and Zambia.
