Doha Forum 2022: QFFD, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Sign USD 200 Million Partnership Supporting Smallholder Farmers to Confront Climate Change

Doha, March 27 (QNA) - Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, announced Sunday, on the sideline of Doha Forum 2022, a new strategic partnership called Nanmo or 'Growth Together.' QFFD and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation jointly pledged up to USD 200 million to support smallholder farmers and their communities in the African countries. Nanmo invests in climate-adaptive agriculture tools and technologies to build resilient food systems and markets that provide nutrition, income, and economic opportunities to small-scale producers in drylands on the African continent, who are bearing the brunt of the effects of climate change. The partnership will aim to strengthen economies throughout the Global South via four key areas, namely equity as a primary driver of inclusive growth, enterprise as a means of job creation and poverty alleviation, agriculture as a primary source of food, jobs, and income in Sub-Saharan Africa, and provision of access to technologies, financial tools, and emerging best practices as a driver of productivity, nutrition, and climate adaptation. The partnership will also seek to ensure women small-scale producers positively contribute to and benefit from decisions about how their communities grow food and create jobs. This strategic partnership was announced by HE Director General of QFFD Khalifa Al Kuwari and Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates, in the presence of the CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gate Foundation Mark Suzman during a panel on the side-line of Doha form 2022, which began its work on Sunday in Doha. The new strategic will include systems-level research and country-level implementation to adapt to the local environments they serve. One of the first projects funded by Nanmo will focus on improving the livelihoods of low-income women farmers in several African countries, working with the World Poultry Foundation to provide them with improved breeds of chicken for egg and meat production. HE Director General of Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) Khalifa bin Jassim Al Kuwari said: "we are thrilled to be announcing a new initiative in collaboration with our strategic partner the Bill & Malinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) titled Nanmo, which aims at ensuring that sustainable development goals are met everywhere, adding "we have high hopes that these valuable partnerships will expand our efforts to improve the lives of vulnerable communities, ensuring their economic security against the backdrop of this ever-evolving planet." His Excellency explained that the partnership will fund projects with a clear path to impact across multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including poverty alleviation, agricultural transformation, nutrition, and women's and youth economic empowerment. Such investments are particularly important because any conflict that occurs anywhere in the world may threaten food security worldwide, he added. For his part, Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates said: "smallholder farmers in Africa are contributing the least to climate change but already suffering the most from it, and with QFFD we are trying to change that equation," adding that "by investing in resilience and security for farmers, we hope to help millions of people avoid the hunger and extreme poverty that climate change brings." For her part, Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gate Foundation Melinda French said that the agricultural sector contributes to economic growth, but it does not automatically benefit society equally. "Nanmo initiative is not only limited to protecting the agricultural sector from climate change, but also empowering small farmers, including millions of women, to lift themselves out of poverty and invest in a better future for their families and communities," she added. The Gates Foundation has spent over USD 5 billion since 2009 in total commitments to agricultural development to support the needs of smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Building stronger food systems for smallholder farmers is urgently required to avert more serious hunger crises in dryland regions. This will help boost the economies of the region and improve the ability to which people are able to respond and adapt to climate change. Since 2012, QFFD has been providing aid to many countries in accordance with the international cooperation goals of Qatar National Vision 2030. Its primary goal is to achieve inclusive and sustainable development by addressing global priority issues in education, health, and economic development. QFFD cooperates with many reputable actors through strategic partnerships both locally and internationally. These include Civil Society Organizations, government agencies, UN agencies, and the private sector. (QNA)