NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 26 – Bayer Foundation and The Pula Foundation have entered into an agreement to provide insurance coverage for 10 million smallholder farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia by 2030, aiming to bolster climate resilience and ensure global food security.
The initiative targets regions severely affected by climate change, where erratic weather patterns, including droughts and floods, threaten livelihoods and food systems. Supported by Bayer’s Crop Science division, the partnership will offer financial protection to farmers facing yield losses due to extreme weather events.
Through data-driven agricultural insurance solutions, farmers will receive compensation for crop damage, allowing them to recover, reinvest, and build resilience against future climate shocks.
Bayer Foundation has committed €10 million from its Social Innovation Ecosystem Fund to unlock an estimated $127 million in insurance coverage for farmers.
The funding will be implemented in collaboration with national governments and local stakeholders to ensure the solutions reach the intended beneficiaries.
“Smallholder farmers face mounting challenges as climate change intensifies. We must equip them to feed their communities and contribute to global food security,” said Matthias Berninger, Bayer’s Executive Vice President of Public Affairs, Science, and Sustainability.
Rodrigo Santos, President of Bayer’s Crop Science division, emphasized the company’s commitment to sustainable growth, saying, “This partnership with Pula Foundation is a critical step toward building climate resilience for smallholders.”
The partnership builds on a successful pilot project in Zimbabwe initiated in 2021, which insured 31,000 farmers in its first year and expanded to cover over one million farmers in three years. This scalability showcases the potential of public-private collaborations in addressing climate risks.
Rose Goslinga, Director of Pula Foundation, underscored the transformative role of insurance for farmers. “Insurance empowers smallholder farmers to prepare for volatile climates, reducing reliance on external aid,” she said.
The collaboration marks a significant step in providing farmers with tools to adapt to climate challenges, supporting food security and sustainable livelihoods in vulnerable regions.
