Small-scale farmers in Kenya could soon benefit from a major global initiative after billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates pledged $1.4 billion, about Ksh180 billion, to help farmers in developing countries cope with the growing impact of climate change.
The funding, announced through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will be available over the next four years and is to help smallholder farmers across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia access technologies and innovations able to make their farms resilient.
The money, according to the foundation, will go into projects targeted at enhancing crop yields, increasing livestock production, and land restoration. It will also support digital advisory tools to enable farmers to make better decisions in the face of unpredictable weather patterns.
“Smallholder farmers are feeding their communities under the toughest conditions imaginable,” said Gates in the statement. “Investing in their resilience is one of the smartest, most impactful things we can do for people and the planet.”
Being part of sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya is expected to be one of the beneficiaries of the programme. The foundation has announced that the investment will target the financial and technological gaps that have for a long time made small farmers unable to adapt to extreme weather.
He added that while small-scale farmers produce more than a third of the world’s food, they remain among the most vulnerable to droughts, floods, and rising temperatures, yet receive less than one per cent of all global public climate financing.
The pledge represents a turn in the broader climate strategy of Gates towards helping poor and vulnerable communities adapt to present climate threats, rather than just pushing for cuts in emissions.
It also aligns with the foundation’s long-term vision of lifting millions of people out of poverty by 2045.
In Kenya, small-scale farming is the backbone of the country’s food system. According to a 2019–2029 strategy paper by the Ministry of Agriculture, the estimated number of smallholder farmers which includes crop farmers, pastoralists, and fisherfolk is approximately 4.5 million, but data from IFAD estimates the number could be as high as 7.5 million.
The typical smallholder owns or cultivates less than five hectares-roughly 12 acres-and relies primarily on family labour and limited mechanization.
Despite these disadvantages, they produce upwards of 75 to 80 percent of Kenya’s total agricultural output-most of it rain-fed rather than irrigated.
The leading region in terms of small-scale farmer concentration is the Rift Valley region, contributing over 1.2 million, followed by the Eastern region, which has 888,000, while the Coast has about 235,000 such farmers.
The Gates Foundation said that the new funding is intended to ensure that these farmers who stand at the frontline of the climate crisis – have access to the tools and innovations needed to sustain their livelihoods and feed their communities in a changing world.
We Kenya Small Scale Farmers Forum KESSFF a registered grassroots village based membership network of Small Scale Farmers SSFs operating in 75%of the Republic of Kenya and part of a similar larger regional network for East Central and South African Countries ESAFF, will and are anxious waiting for the launch of The Gates Foundation project through which we Small Scale Farmers SSFs will get support for the solving problems which they experience in their ordinary day today Farming activities.
Once more thanks alot to Bill Gates Foundation for the consideration.
At long last we are sure that we are now going to get substantial support for solving the problems that impede efforts of Small Scale Farmers in their efforts to engage in productive agriculture.
Once thanks to the Bill Gates Foundation for the consideration.