To help farmers adapt to climate change, NSFC and the Gates Foundation are co-funding related research.
Climate change is one of the challenges facing the world and it is already having a severe impact on agriculture.
According to the official website of the National Natural Science Foundation of China ("Natural Science Foundation") and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ("Gates Foundation"), on January 9, 2023, the Natural Science Foundation of China and the Gates Foundation jointly announced that four research proposals have been selected for the joint agricultural research funding project jointly initiated by the two parties.
Each research proposal will receive US$250,000 (or equivalent in RMB) from the Natural Science Foundation of China and the Gates Foundation, and the project will be implemented for 3 years (January 1, 2023-December 31, 2025).
Since the project was announced in April 2022, the two parties have received a total of 33 qualified project applications. Ultimately, four research protocols were selected.
Selected projects include:
·Gene number per panicle and lodging resistance gene cloning and innovation of high-yield and drought-resistant germplasm in rice. The project aims to bridge the production gap in African rice by identifying and replicating new genes associated with beneficial traits such as higher yield, drought resistance and addressing plant stem weakening (aka 'crop lodging') while improving breeding technology. The research results will provide African rice breeders with new genetic resources and accelerate the improvement of rice.
·Research on drought tolerance and heat tolerance breeding of maize in response to global climate change. The project focuses on molecular genetic analysis and innovative breeding materials or germplasm selection to determine the drought and heat tolerance characteristics of maize. The project aims to build a platform to develop climate-smart maize breeding strategies and provide technical support for maize production under rapidly changing climate conditions.
·Agricultural comprehensive weather index insurance research and implementation. The project plans to address practical issues related to weather index insurance, such as insufficient demand from farmers, weak policy support, and limited market supply, while working to provide theoretical basis and policy recommendations for weather index insurance.
·Coffee Weather Index Insurance Product Design, Preference Analysis and Policy Effect Evaluation: Comparative Research and Practice between China and Ethiopia. The project develops a model of "scientific design, farmers' needs, and effective use of public funds" through comparative case studies of coffee weather index insurance in Yunnan Province, China and Sidamo, Ethiopia, so as to provide more developing countries National knowledge and experience in designing and implementing agricultural weather index insurance programs.
This joint funding project is part of the 2022 Sustainable Development International Cooperation Science Plan of the Natural Science Foundation of China. The program is jointly initiated by the Natural Science Foundation of China and a number of international partners including the Gates Foundation. scientific research.
In sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, most people rely on small-scale agriculture to support their families, and most women work in agriculture. Their livelihoods are critical to achieving several of the Sustainable Development Goals, including ending hunger and poverty and expanding opportunities for women and girls.
China has accumulated extensive experience and expertise in developing climate-resilient agricultural products and technologies. To help farmers adapt to climate change, the NSFC and Gates Foundation will focus on funding research in two areas: climate-smart crop breeding techniques and strategies, and weather index insurance. The former can help ensure that farmers can maintain stable harvests under conditions of high temperature, drought and extreme rainfall; the latter, as an emerging means, uses multiple data sources to formulate weather index insurance policies to help farmers mitigate economic losses caused by extreme weather. loss.
Since the project was announced in April 2022, the two parties have received a total of 33 qualified project applications. After peer review and expert review, the Natural Science Foundation of China and the Gates Foundation jointly announced that four research proposals have been selected, two of which focus on climate-smart crop breeding technologies and strategies, and two of which focus on weather index insurance.
