Qatar Fund for Development has announced a partnership with The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation intended to help hundreds of smallholder farmers across Africa to battle climate change with a $200 million initiative.
Bill Gates, along with Mr Khalifa Al-Kuwari, the Director-General of QFFD, and Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman, revealed the latest initiative during a panel at the 20th edition of the Doha Forum in Qatar, where world leaders, diplomats, and activists all gathered under one roof to discuss prominent global issues, with the threats of climate change high on the agenda.
Named Nanmo, or “growing together” in Arabic, the new strategic partnership will help improve the livelihoods of thousands of farmers in the African continent who were affected by climate change.
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The fund will be used to invest in climate-adaptive agricultural tools and technologies to develop strong food systems and markets to help small-scale producers and their communities across Africa will be focusing on three main pillars: adaptation, access, and growth.
This is expected to be done by providing nutrition, income, and economic opportunities to those in need who were affected by the cataclysmic challenges of climate change.
Gates explained that hundreds of millions of smallholder farmers, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, are already seeing their livelihoods threatened by higher temperatures and changing weather patterns.
“We’re building on our longstanding collaboration with QFFD to help these farmers adapt. Together, we can prevent millions of people from falling into poverty and hunger due to climate change and increase agricultural yields to jumpstart equitable economic growth where it’s most needed.” He said.
The partnership will also explore four main key areas to strengthen economies in sub-Saharan Africa, including equity, enterprise, agriculture, and access to technologies, financial tools, and emerging best practices “as a driver of productivity, nutrition, and climate adaptation.”
To ensure the best adaptation to local environments, the project will also include system-level research and country-level implementation, the foundation highlighted.
In his reaction, Al-Kuwari said, “we are thrilled to be announcing a new initiative in collaboration with our strategic partner, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which aims at ensuring that sustainable development goals are met everywhere,”.
According to him, it is hoped that these ‘valuable partnerships will expand efforts to improve the lives of vulnerable communities, ensuring their economic security against the backdrop of this ever-evolving planet.
Story was adapted from Doha News.
