Gates Foundation, Qatar to spend $200 million on climate-adaptive agriculture

The new partnership aims to help farmers in low-income countries adapt to climate change

Major gas producer Qatar and the Gates Foundation will jointly invest up to $200 million over the next two years to help prepare farmers in developing countries to adapt to climate change.

The new partnership, announced on Sunday at a conference in the Gulf Arab state, focuses on introducing climate-adaptive farming methods and technology to communities that depend on agriculture for both food and income, primarily in sub-Sahran Africa, said Mark Suzman, chief executive officer of the Gates Foundation.

“We are trying to help those communities grapple with the reality of climate change now and, in a way, help insulate them from the future damages of climate change,” which can pull them deeper into poverty, he told Reuters.

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For example, the partnership aims to introduce dual-use chickens, raised for both food and egg production, to low-income women farmers in parts of Africa. The chickens are bred to be productive in a variety of climate conditions.

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“Climate change is already happening. We are already seeing more frequent droughts, more frequent floods, less predictable weather,” Suzman said.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a major nonprofit that tackles poverty and inequity. It will fund the partnership on a 50-50 basis with Qatar’s state Fund for Development, Suzman said.